BATON ROUGE – Louisiana was the only state in February that posted an increase in jobs according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday. The state gained 800 jobs since January and 6,200 jobs since February 2008. Louisiana also was the only state to gain jobs in December, with an increase of 3,700 jobs from November.

Louisiana’s unemployment rate of 5.7 percent, 10th lowest in the nation, remains significantly lower than the U.S. rate of 8.1 percent.

Louisiana also was the only state where the unemployment rate decreased in January, improving to 5.1 percent from 5.5 percent in December.

Unadjusted unemployment rates held steady or improved from January to February for every metropolitan statistical area of the state, with every MSA reporting job gains.

In addition, the January and February nonfarm employment and civilian labor force were at their highest levels ever in the state for those months.

“It is very clear that Louisiana employers are still hiring and that our state has opportunities for our citizens,” LWC Executive Director Tim Barfield said.

For more detailed information on employment data for Louisiana, visit our Web site at http://www.LAWORKS.net and select Labor Market Information from the left-side menu. Then select Monthly Employment Bulletin – Workforce At A Glance or Monthly Employment Statistics Press Release for the latest monthly nonfarm and labor force data.