Unemployment in Louisiana’s construction industry in January dropped more than 2 percentage points compared to the opening month of 2015, following a national trend.
The non-seasonally adjusted unemployment percentage in the state’s construction sector stood at 9.8% in January, down from 12.2% last January, according to figures released this morning by the Associated Builders and Contractors.
The figures show Louisiana’s January unemployment percentage in the construction sector ranked 30th in the country and was 1.1 percentage points higher than the national average of 8.5%, which is the lowest January average since the association began compiling the information in January 2000. The national percentage in January 2015 was 9.8%
“As a result of the relatively good weather and continued improvement in the economy and the construction industry, (non-seasonally adjusted) construction unemployment rates for the country and 43 states were lower than in January 2015,” the association says in a news release.
January 2004 marked Louisiana’s lowest construction sector unemployment rate during the month, at 4.8%, while the highest rate, 15.8%, came in the 2013. In January from 2009 to 2015, Louisiana averaged an unemployment rate of 13.6% in the sector.
Georgia had the lowest construction unemployment rate in January, 4.6%, followed by Texas at 5.4% and Colorado at 5.7% As for Louisiana’s immediate neighbors, Mississippi’s unemployment rate was at 9.2% in January, Alabama’s rate was 9.5% and Arkansas’ rate was 10.5%.
See construction unemployment rates in January for all states.
