Lafayette, Louisiana Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Lafayette rose 0.2 percentage points in April 2018 to 4.8%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.3 percentage points higher than the Louisiana rate. The unemployment rate in Lafayette peaked in November 2010 at 7.4% and is now 2.6 percentage points lower. From a post peak low of 4.4% in January 2018, the unemployment rate has now grown by 0.4 percentage points. You can also compare Lafayette unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate	April 2018	Month/Month	Year/Year
National	3.9%	-0.2	-0.5
Louisiana	4.5%	+0.1	-0.9
Lafayette	4.8%	+0.2	-1.2

Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.¹ All comparisons are made with April 2018 data as May metro level unemployment data has not yet been released.

Unemployment Rate: Lafayette, Louisiana, National

Note: Recessions shown in gray.

Lafayette, Louisiana Unemployed

The number of people unemployed in Lafayette peaked in November 2010 at 16,455. There are now 6,220 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. From a recent trough of 9,515 in January 2018, the number of unemployed has now grown by 720.

Unemployed Persons	April 2018	Month/Month	Year/Year
Lafayette	10,235	+314	-2,632

Number of Unemployed Persons

Lafayette, Louisiana Unemployment History

Date	National Unemployment Rate	Louisiana Unemployment Rate	Lafayette Unemployment Rate	Lafayette Unemployed
May 2018	3.8%	4.6%	—	—
April 2018	3.9%	4.5%	4.8%	10,235
March 2018	4.1%	4.4%	4.6%	9,921
February 2018	4.1%	4.5%	4.4%	9,549
January 2018	4.1%	4.6%	4.4%	9,515
December 2017	4.1%	4.7%	4.8%	10,101
November 2017	4.1%	4.7%	4.8%	10,167
October 2017	4.1%	4.7%	4.9%	10,391
September 2017	4.2%	4.8%	5.2%	10,999
August 2017	4.4%	4.9%	5.4%	11,552
July 2017	4.3%	5.0%	5.5%	11,696
June 2017	4.3%	5.2%	5.5%	11,818