Louisiana gains 10900 jobs in October

Louisiana's non-farm employment increased by 10,900 jobs in October, a sign that the regional job market is recovering from a destructive hurricane season, the state's labor department said Tuesday.

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the state also had 9,900 more non-farm jobs last month than it did in October 2007, according to the Louisiana Workforce Commission.

Tim Barfield, the commission's executive director, said the outlook for Louisiana's labor market has improved since hurricanes Gustav and Ike disrupted businesses across the state in September.

"It appears that the hurricanes did have a significant effect on our employment in September, and that we've rebounded considerably from that," Barfield said in a statement.

Monthly job gains were reported in eight of the state's 11 industry sectors. Service-producing employment increased by 8,600 jobs from September to October and were up by 10,300 over the same period of 2007. The goods-producing sector gained 2,300 jobs over the month.

Louisiana had 15,997 new or renewed claims for unemployment insurance last month, down from 67,667 in September but up from 10,778 in October 2007.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the state's preliminary unemployment rate in October was 5.5 percent, up from 5.2 percent in September. The national unemployment rate for October was 6.5 percent. The state's civilian labor force, a key factor in computing the unemployment rate, rose by 8,251 in October over the previous month.

Among the state's metropolitan areas:

• The New Orleans region gained 5,800 non-farm jobs last month and had an increase of 9,600 over October 2007. Over the year, the region added 1,100 goods-producing jobs and 8,500 service-providing jobs.

• The Baton Rouge region added 3,200 jobs in October and 1,300 over the yearly comparison. Goods-producing jobs were up by 900 since October 2007, while service-providing jobs were up by 400 over the same period.

• The Shreveport-Bossier City region gained 400 jobs last month and had 2,100 more than in October 2007. Over the year, the region lost 600 goods-producing jobs but added 2,700 service-providing jobs.

• The Lafayette region added 1,200 jobs in October and 2,600 over the yearly comparison. Goods-producing jobs were down by 600 since October 2007, while service-producing jobs were up by 1,600 over the same period.

• The Lake Charles region gained 800 jobs last month and had 200 more than in October 2007. Over the year, the region lost 100 goods-producing jobs but gained 300 service producing-jobs.

• The Monroe region had the same number of non-farm jobs last month that it did in September, but it lost 800 jobs over the yearly comparison. Goods-producing jobs were down by 500 over the year, while service-producing jobs were down by 300 over the same period.

• The Houma-Thibodaux region, which took a direct hit from Gustav, gained 700 jobs in October but lost 900 over the year. The region had 700 fewer goods-producing jobs and 200 fewer service-producing jobs over the yearly comparison.

• The Alexandria region added 400 jobs last month and had the same number of jobs over the yearly comparison. Goods-producing jobs increased by 100, while service-producing jobs dropped by 100 over the year.

http://blog.nola.com/tpmoney/2008/11/louisiana_gains_10900_jobs_in.html

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Louisiana gains 10900 jobs in October