Lake Charles, Louisiana Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Lake Charles rose 0.1 percentage points in December 2011 to 6.4%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.4 percentage points lower than the Louisiana rate. The unemployment rate in Lake Charles peaked in May 2011 at 7.7% and is now 1.3 percentage points lower. From a post peak low of 5.9% in September 2011, the unemployment rate has now grown by 0.5 percentage points. You can also compare Lake Charles unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate	December 2011	Month/Month	Year/Year
National	8.5%	-0.2	-0.9
Louisiana	6.8%	-0.1	-0.9
Lake Charles	6.4%	+0.1	-0.9

Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.¹ All comparisons are made with December 2011 data as January metro level unemployment data has not yet been released.

Unemployment Rate: Lake Charles, Louisiana, National

Note: Recessions shown in gray.

Lake Charles, Louisiana Unemployed

The number of people unemployed in Lake Charles peaked in May 2011 at 7,277. There are now 1,272 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. From a recent trough of 5,577 in September 2011, the number of unemployed has now grown by 428.

Unemployed Persons	December 2011	Month/Month	Year/Year
Lake Charles	6,005	+89	-959

Number of Unemployed Persons

Lake Charles, Louisiana Unemployment History

Date	National Unemployment Rate	Louisiana Unemployment Rate	Lake Charles Unemployment Rate	Lake Charles Unemployed
January 2012	8.3%	—	—	—
December 2011	8.5%	6.8%	6.4%	6,005
November 2011	8.7%	6.9%	6.3%	5,916
October 2011	8.9%	7.0%	6.1%	5,745
September 2011	9.0%	6.9%	5.9%	5,577
August 2011	9.1%	7.2%	6.1%	5,774
July 2011	9.1%	7.6%	6.5%	6,211
June 2011	9.1%	7.8%	7.0%	6,633
May 2011	9.0%	8.2%	7.7%	7,277
April 2011	9.0%	8.1%	7.6%	7,207
March 2011	8.9%	8.1%	7.6%	7,194
February 2011	9.0%	7.9%	7.5%	7,061
January 2011	9.1%	7.8%	7.3%	6,883