NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner metropolitan area saw mixed trends in employment and unemployment for July 2024. Here are the key highlights:
Labor Force and Employment: The civilian labor force increased slightly to 590,800, up from 586,800 in June. Employment followed suit, rising to 565,000 from 560,000 in the previous month.
Unemployment Rate: The unemployment rate saw a minor improvement, decreasing to 4.4% from 4.6% in June. Despite this, the rate remains higher than earlier in the year.
Nonfarm Employment: Total nonfarm employment in the area was 561,700, showing a slight decrease from 564,000 in June. The 12-month trend indicates a small overall gain of 0.5%, after several months of decline.
Sector performance is as follows:
Mining and Logging: This sector remained stable with a small increase, now at 3,200 jobs.
Construction: Jobs in construction saw a modest increase to 28,400, with a year-over-year decrease slowing to -2.4%.
Manufacturing: This sector maintained its steady level of 29,900 jobs but showed a slight decrease in the 12-month percentage change.
Trade, Transportation, and Utilities: Employment grew slightly to 108,300, with a positive trend of 1.3% over the past year.
Leisure and Hospitality: This sector experienced a decline, falling to 78,000 jobs, marking a year-over-year decrease of -2.7%.
Overall, while there are signs of improvement in certain sectors and a slight drop in the unemployment rate, challenges remain in others, reflecting a mixed picture for the local economy. For a full list of the data, visit here.
