US Unemployment Rate at Lowest Level in 50 Years, but Louisiana Sees Little Improvement

The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 3.7 percent in September, the lowest level since December 1969.

The Associated Press reports this is the longest streak of hiring on record and millions of Americans are back at work.

The Labor Department says employers added just 134,000 jobs, the fewest in a year, though that figure was likely lowered by Hurricane Florence. The storm struck North and South Carolina in the middle of September and closed thousands of businesses. A category that includes restaurants, hotels and casinos lost jobs for the first time since last September, when Hurricane Harvey had a similar effect.

Even with unemployment at a historic low, average hourly pay increased just 2.8 percent from a year earlier, one tick below the yearly gain in August.

But the unemployment rate in Louisiana for August was 5%, 3rd highest in the nation according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Only West Virginia and Alaska have higher unemployment rates than Louisiana.