Here's how unemployment in Acadia Parish, Louisiana compares

Acadia Parish's unemployment rate in December was 3.9%—ranked #38 highest out of 64 in the state.

Nationally, unemployment has leveled with pre-COVID rates, measuring between 3.5% and 4% for most of the past two years. Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed a 3.7% unemployment rate in January. Previously, unemployment skyrocketed to 14.7% at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, and those rates remained elevated through late 2021.

Though national unemployment has mostly normalized, local economies vary widely. Stacker used Bureau of Labor Statistics data to analyze unemployment in Acadia Parish over time, and how it stacks up within Louisiana and across the nation.

The unemployment rate in Acadia Parish is 0.2 percentage points above the national level, and 0.2 percentage points above the state level. It ranks #38 among parishes in Louisiana—ranked first by the preliminary December 2023 unemployment rate, then breaking ties by the number of unemployed people. It trails behind Evangeline Parish, with an unemployment rate of 4.0%, but surpasses Lincoln Parish (which has the same unemployment rate).

In real terms, it means an estimated 931 of Acadia Parish's approximately 23,644 working residents are out of a job at the moment. That's 68 more than last month and 131 more than a year ago. Some economists fret another recession may be on the horizon, which would drive unemployment up with business closures and layoffs.

This story was produced using automation across 3,100 counties, boroughs, and parishes, based on writing and data reporting by Paxtyn Merten.