Lake Charles, Louisiana Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Lake Charles fell 0.1 percentage points in December 2018 to 3.6%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 1.3 percentage points lower than the Louisiana rate. The unemployment rate in Lake Charles peaked in November 2010 at 8.5% and is now 4.9 percentage points lower. From a post peak low of 3.3% in January 2018, the unemployment rate has now grown by 0.3 percentage points. You can also compare Lake Charles unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate	December 2018	Month/Month	Year/Year
National	3.9%	+0.2	-0.2
Louisiana	4.9%	-0.1	+0.2
Lake Charles	3.6%	-0.1	+0.1

Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.¹ All comparisons are made with December 2018 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 November 2010 at 7,768. There are now 3,549 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. From a recent trough of 3,795 in January 2018, the number of unemployed has now grown by 424. Lake Charles employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in Lake Charles, Louisiana) is also available.

Unemployed Persons	December 2018	Month/Month	Year/Year
Lake Charles	4,219	-38	+215

Number of Unemployed Persons

Lake Charles, Louisiana Unemployment History

Date	National Unemployment Rate	Louisiana Unemployment Rate	Lake Charles Unemployment Rate	Lake Charles Unemployed
January 2019	4.0%	—	—	—
December 2018	3.9%	4.9%	3.6%	4,219
November 2018	3.7%	5.0%	3.7%	4,257
October 2018	3.8%	5.0%	3.7%	4,284
September 2018	3.7%	5.0%	3.7%	4,338
August 2018	3.8%	5.0%	3.9%	4,538
July 2018	3.9%	4.9%	4.1%	4,773
June 2018	4.0%	4.7%	4.0%	4,631
May 2018	3.8%	4.6%	3.7%	4,307
April 2018	3.9%	4.5%	3.6%	4,207
March 2018	4.0%	4.4%	3.4%	4,022
February 2018	4.1%	4.5%	3.3%	3,856