Department of Numbers

Lafayette, Louisiana Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Lafayette fell 0.2 percentage points in May 2021 to 6.5%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.6 percentage points lower than the Louisiana rate. The unemployment rate in Lafayette peaked in May 2020 at 12.1% and is now 5.6 percentage points lower. You can also compare Lafayette unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate May 2021 Month/Month Year/Year
National 5.8% -0.3 -7.5
Louisiana 7.1% -0.1 -6.0
Lafayette 6.5% -0.2 -5.6
Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.1 All comparisons are made with May 2021 data as June 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 May 2020 at 25,197. There are now 11,422 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area.

Unemployed Persons May 2021 Month/Month Year/Year
Lafayette 13,775 -350 -11,422

Number of Unemployed Persons

Lafayette, Louisiana Unemployment History

Date National
Unemployment Rate		 Louisiana
Unemployment Rate		 Lafayette
Unemployment Rate		 Lafayette
Unemployed
June
2021		 5.9% — — —
May
2021		 5.8% 7.1% 6.5% 13,775
April
2021		 6.1% 7.2% 6.7% 14,125
March
2021		 6.0% 7.4% 6.8% 14,411
February
2021		 6.2% 7.6% 7.0% 14,729
January
2021		 6.3% 7.6% 7.2% 15,186
December
2020		 6.7% 7.9% 6.7% 14,234
November
2020		 6.7% 7.9% 6.9% 14,545
October
2020		 6.9% 7.9% 7.0% 14,925
September
2020		 7.8% 8.0% 7.2% 15,362
August
2020		 8.4% 8.2% 7.5% 16,031
July
2020		 10.2% 9.1% 8.6% 17,061

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. ↩

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