LA’s Jobless Rate Highlights Challenge for Main Street

September 3, 2024

Small business owners say they are still having a difficult time finding qualified job applicants to fill vacant positions

LA's Jobless Rate Highlights Challenge for Main Street

Louisiana’s unemployment rate dipped to 3.9% in July, down 0.1% from the month before. While that’s a sign the state’s economy is strong, it also underscores a challenge facing many of Louisiana’s small businesses, NFIB State Director Leah Long said. “There simply aren’t enough qualified applicants to fill all of the positions that are available,” Long said. State-specific data is unavailable, but according to the latest NFIB Optimism Index, 38% of small business owners have positions they’re unable to fill, while 49% percent reported few to zero qualified job applicants. One reason for that may be Louisiana’s relatively low workforce participation rate, Long said. The seasonally adjusted workforce participation rate for Louisiana was 58.6% in July. That was well below the national average of 62.7%. Of the states bordering Louisiana, only Arkansas had a lower rate, 57.9%. Missouri’s rate was 63.8%, while Texas’s was 64.4%. “We look forward to working with legislators in 2025 on solutions to encourage and help prepare people to enter the workforce and fill the positions that are available,” Long said.

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Louisiana

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