Department of Numbers

Lafayette, Louisiana Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Lafayette fell 0.7 percentage points in November 2020 to 7.4%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.9 percentage points lower than the Louisiana rate. The unemployment rate in Lafayette peaked in April 2020 at 13.9% and is now 6.5 percentage points lower. From a post peak low of 6.9% in August 2020, the unemployment rate has now grown by 0.5 percentage points. You can also compare Lafayette unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate November 2020 Month/Month Year/Year
National 6.7% -0.2 +3.1
Louisiana 8.3% -1.1 +3.1
Lafayette 7.4% -0.7 +2.2
Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.1 All comparisons are made with November 2020 data as December metro level unemployment data has not yet been released.

Unemployment Rate: Lafayette, Louisiana, National

Lafayette, Louisiana monthly unemployment rate chart

Note: Recessions shown in gray.

Lafayette, Louisiana Unemployed

The number of people unemployed in Lafayette peaked in April 2020 at 27,193. There are now 11,414 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. From a recent trough of 14,676 in August 2020, the number of unemployed has now grown by 1,103.

Unemployed Persons November 2020 Month/Month Year/Year
Lafayette 15,779 -1,599 +4,660

Number of Unemployed Persons

Lafayette, Louisiana Unemployment History

Date National
Unemployment Rate		 Louisiana
Unemployment Rate		 Lafayette
Unemployment Rate		 Lafayette
Unemployed
December
2020		 6.7% — — —
November
2020		 6.7% 8.3% 7.4% 15,779
October
2020		 6.9% 9.4% 8.1% 17,378
September
2020		 7.8% 8.0% 7.0% 14,914
August
2020		 8.4% 7.7% 6.9% 14,676
July
2020		 10.2% 9.4% 8.5% 17,496
June
2020		 11.1% 9.5% 8.6% 17,543
May
2020		 13.3% 14.2% 13.0% 26,844
April
2020		 14.8% 15.1% 13.9% 27,193
March
2020		 4.4% 6.7% 7.1% 15,183
February
2020		 3.5% 5.2% 5.2% 11,172
January
2020		 3.5% 5.3% 5.2% 11,044

1. Metro area unemployment rates are now seasonally adjusted. The BLS has started publishing smoothed seasonally adjusted metropolitan area data which makes comparisons to state and national data more relevant than the unadjusted numbers. ↩

Data on deptofnumbers.com is for informational purposes only. No warranty or guarantee of accuracy is offered or implied. Contact ben@deptofnumbers.com (or @deptofnumbers on Twitter) if you have any questions, comments or suggestions. Privacy policy.