North Louisiana Parish Faces Skyrocketing Unemployment

SHREVEPORT, LA – One community in far northeast Louisiana has the worst job market in the entire state. The national unemployment rate is up just a tick from 4.1% in February to 4.2 percent in March.

The latest unemployment rate in Louisiana is 4.2%. But one parish in the state has skyrocketing unemployment, much higher than the national and state averages.

All across Louisiana, there are about 92 thousand unemployed folks. About 12,000 of them are getting unemployment benefits.

The Federal Reserve has cut the growth forecasts for the U.S. economy, releasing a statement saying, “Uncertainty around the economic outlook has increased.” It expects inflation to increase at an average rate of 2/7 percent in 2025, an increase from its previous projection of 2.5 percent.

What Louisiana Parish Has the Worst Job Market in Louisiana?

247 Wall St reports East Carroll Parish has the worst job market in the state. Here’s the data released in the report:

• Unemployment rate in Dec. 2024: 8.8% (4.2% statewide)
• Number of unemployed residents: 148 (+2.8% year over year)
• Number of employed residents: 1,527 (+1.3% year over year)
• Total labor force: 1,675 (+1.5% year over year)

A national report shows the total population of East Carroll Parish is just over 7,000 people. It is a very small parish and it’s very poor. The average household income is slightly about $28,000 dollars. More than 35% of the population in East Carroll Parish lives at or below the poverty level.