Louisiana’s unemployment rate stayed flat in May, even as more people found jobs.
The state’s jobless remained level at 6.6% for the third month. That’s above the 5.9 percent the state recorded in May 2014. As The Associated Press reports, the number of people who told surveyors they had a job rose in May, but the labor force also expanded, meaning the unemployment rate didn’t fall.
A separate survey shows payrolls rose by 4,000 in May. After a swoon early in the year, payroll growth has resumed in Louisiana, with employers reporting 12,000 more jobs than in May 2014. Both sets of figures—adjusted to cancel out seasonal changes—were released today by the U.S. Labor Department. The report found 146,000 Louisianans were unemployed in May, which is level with April but 20,000 above May 2014.
Unemployment rates rose in 25 U.S. states last month, driven higher in many cases by more people who began looking for work but didn’t immediately find jobs. Rates fell in nine states and Washington, D.C., and were unchanged in 16 states.
Despite the pickup in unemployment rates, employers are hiring at a robust pace, boosting job growth in most parts of the country. Thirty-seven states added jobs last month, while 12 states cut jobs. Hiring in Montana was flat.
The state data echoes last month’s national pattern. Employers added 280,000 jobs, yet the unemployment rate ticked up to 5.5% from 5.4%. That can happen when more Americans start job hunts but aren’t immediately hired. The government doesn’t count people as unemployed unless they are actively searching for work.
Nearly every state has gained jobs in the past 12 months, except for West Virginia, which lost nearly 17,000. West Virginia now has the nation’s highest unemployment rate at 7.2%, while Nebraska has the lowest rate at 2.6%.
