Department of Numbers

Lake Charles, Louisiana Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Lake Charles fell 0.7 percentage points in July 2010 to 7.1%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.1 percentage points lower than the Louisiana rate. The unemployment rate in Lake Charles peaked in January 2010 at 7.4% and is now 0.2 percentage points lower. From a post peak low of 6.7% in April 2010, the unemployment rate has now grown by 0.5 percentage points.

Unemployment Rate July 2010 Month/Month Year/Year
National 9.5% 0.0 +0.1
Louisiana 7.2% +0.2 0.0
Lake Charles 7.1% -0.7 -0.3
Note: Metro level data is not seasonally adjusted.1 All comparisons are made with July 2010 data as August metro level unemployment data has not yet been released.

Unemployment Rate: Lake Charles, Louisiana, National

Lake Charles, Louisiana monthly unemployment rate chart

Note: Recessions shown in gray.

Lake Charles, Louisiana Unemployed

The number of people unemployed in Lake Charles peaked in June 2010 at 7,590. There are now 643 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area.

Unemployed Persons July 2010 Month/Month Year/Year
Lake Charles 6,947 -643 -119

Number of Unemployed Persons

Lake Charles, Louisiana Unemployment History

Date National
Unemployment Rate
Louisiana
Unemployment Rate
Lake Charles
Unemployment Rate
Lake Charles
Unemployed
August
2010
9.6%
July
2010
9.5% 7.2% 7.1% 6,947
June
2010
9.5% 7.0% 7.8% 7,590
May
2010
9.7% 6.8% 6.7% 6,425
April
2010
9.9% 6.7% 6.0% 5,663
March
2010
9.7% 6.9% 5.8% 5,476
February
2010
9.7% 7.3% 6.3% 5,927
January
2010
9.7% 7.4% 7.8% 7,325
December
2009
10.0% 7.3% 6.9% 6,465
November
2009
10.0% 7.3% 6.3% 5,916
October
2009
10.1% 7.3% 6.6% 6,206
September
2009
9.8% 7.3% 7.0% 6,536
August
2009
9.7% 7.3% 7.4% 6,997

1. Metro area unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted while state and national rates are. In practice this means the metro rates may be noisier on a month-to-month basis than the state and national series due to seasonal effects. It's probably better to use year-over-year comparisons.