The Louisiana Workforce Commission released unemployment data for November 2017 when the unemployment rate was 4.2 percent. This is the lowest it has been since April of 2008.

“We’ve observed measurable improvement in the state’s employment outlook over the year, including declines in the unemployment rates across all metro areas compared to 2016,” LWC Executive Director Ava Dejoie said.

Employment in non-seasonally adjusted jobs has increased.

With the addition of 14,800 jobs since November 2016, the total number of jobs was raised to 1,997,200. There have been 19,200 jobs added to the private sector since November of 2016 bringing the total number of private sector jobs in the state to 1,671,400.

The number of people that have joined the workforce grew by 10,405 to 2,109,462. It should be noted that this number includes the number of people who are actively working and looking for work.

Unemployment in Louisiana’s nine metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) has continued its steady decline, and now shows a sizable difference from November 2016.

• Alexandria: 4.6 percent, down from 5.7 percent in November 2016.

• Baton Rouge: 3.7 percent, down from 4.7 percent in November 2016.

• Hammond: 4.6 percent, down from 5.9 percent in November 2016.

• Houma: 4.4 percent, down from 6.1 percent in November 2016.

• Lafayette: 4.5 percent, down from 6.3 percent in November 2016.

• Lake Charles: 3.4 percent, down from 4.2 percent in November 2016.

• Monroe: 4.3 percent, down from 5.6 percent in November 2016.

• New Orleans: 4.0 percent, and down from 4.9 percent in November 2016.

• Shreveport: 4.6 percent, down from 5.9 percent in November 2016.

“These figures reflect the persistence of Louisiana’s job seekers in pursuing gainful employment,” Dejoie said. “We hope to further restore confidence in our labor force in the coming year.”