Is Unemployment Getting Better in Louisiana?

The economy is always on the minds of Americans, with unemployment being a key issue within the economy. A new study shows that unemployment claims may be falling in places, is Louisiana among them?

• A new WalletHub study reveals how much unemployment claims have grown or shrunk in each state
• In 15 states unemployment claims have grown since last year
  • Three of those states have had unemployment claims grow by over 50%
• Louisiana may see unemployment begin to fall

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Measuring Unemployment

In 2023 the unemployment rate in America managed record lows, but recently the economy and job market have begun to shake, with unemployment claims slowly building in 29 states.

Since unemployment is currently at 4.1%, a relatively normal number since 2016, there was no concern for the study to focus on the unemployment rate itself as the data on that can be slow to gather. But by analyzing the unemployment claims made state-by-state we can get a start on seeing where unemployment may be on the rise.

Louisiana Sees Drop

WalletHub ranked all 50 states (plus Washington D.C.) by which states had the most increases overall in unemployment claims, Louisiana came in as one of the top 10 states where unemployment claims have grown the least.

Louisiana ranked as the 9th state where unemployment claims have grown the least, only up by 0.25% since last week, and -11.62% down since last year.

"One of my predictions for the job market is that there will be a shift in the future. I believe that organizations understand the expectations of their employees and are experiencing the market’s competitive nature." - Dylan Polkinghorne, Assitant Teaching Professor , University of Wisconsin; on predicting the future job market.

 

States with the Most Unemployment Claims

Singlehandedly North Dakota had more unemployment claims in the last week than the next two states combined, a 137.95% increase since last week alone. Looking to the last year overall North Dakota saw a rise in claims of 98.84%.

In the last year, the other top states with the most growth for claims are Massachusetts (82.64%), Kansas (54.58%), Virginia (38.61%), and Washington D.C. (30.75%).