http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20100925/ARTICLES/100929464/1212?Title=Despite-fears-following-spill-local-jobless-rate-holds-steady
By Kathrine Schmidt
Staff Writer
Published: Saturday, September 25, 2010 at 6:01 a.m.
HOUMA – Despite fears about the economic impact of the Gulf oil spill and deepwater-drilling ban, employment remained steady in the Houma-Thibodaux area in August, state figures show.
The metro-area unemployment rate of 5.9 percent is still the state’s lowest, the Louisiana Workforce Commission reported Friday. It’s up from 5.2 percent in July, but that’s a typical seasonal change as summer workers are released from jobs, state officials said. That compares to 5.5 percent in August 2009.
“The state and other areas are pretty much holding their own,” said Patty Granier, a statistician with the state agency. “We don’t see any big trend down. (Businesses) are trying to maintain and keep as many workers as they can.”
The local numbers are well below the state rate of 8.2 percent and the national rate of 9.5 percent.
Terrebonne posted 6 percent and Lafourche 5.7 percent. Those numbers aren’t adjusted for seasonal variations such as summer employees looking for new jobs and teachers returning to work.
Louisiana showed a gain of 13,700 jobs over the year.
“We continue to see over-the-year gains in the number of jobs and people in the labor force,” Workforce Commission Executive Director Curt Eysink said in a news release. “The fact that private sector jobs are fueling the yearly growth is a positive sign.”
The state numbers also show the Houma-Thibodaux area gaining an estimated 300 jobs since July, thanks to school teachers employed by local government getting back to the classroom.
But the metro area still has about 200 fewer jobs than it did a year ago. Oil-and-gas jobs and construction jobs maintained their employment levels, as did positions in leisure and hospitality.
In neighboring parishes, Assumption posted a 10.7 percent jobless rate in August, St. Mary 9.7 percent and St. James 12.4 percent.
While the official numbers haven’t budged much, the state’s count of workers does not track the cuts to hours and benefits that oilfield workers said they have been experiencing as a result of the deepwater-drilling ban.
Some of that pain has been reflected in an increased demand for assistance, including requests from many families who haven’t had to use them before.
Jennifer Gaudet, a case worker with Catholic Charities of Houma-Thibodaux, said that since mid-July the organization has seen a significant increase in cases for families asking about programs that provide help with food, utility bills and rent or mortgage payments.
Staff Writer Kathrine Schmidt can be reached at 857-2204 or Kathrine.schmidt@houmatoday.com.
Special thanks to Richard Charter