The national unemployment rate reached a four-year high this July at 5.7%. The Shreveport-Bossier area has an unemployment rate of 5.5 % for June. The Department of Labor releases unemployment rates, but individual state and city rates are not yet available for July. In comparison to other cities in our region, Shreveport-Bossier has the highest unemployment rate for June. Dallas and Baton Rouge have a 4.8 % rate and Little Rock has the lowest rate at 4.6%. Tim Shaughnessy is a professor of economics at Louisiana State University Shreveport. Regarding the national unemployment rate, Shaughnessy said people should not worry. “Historically 5.7 % is not that bad, and people should not be too concerned about it.” Shaughnessy said that in recent years the national unemployment rate has been low, and that 5.7 % is what economists call the “natural rate,” or a healthy amount of unemployment that will always occur in an economy. The Shreveport-Bossier area has a diverse economy, which offers a variety of jobs. "I think the Louisiana and especially Shreveport-Bossier is going to counter the national trends. We have a lot of good movements, with the Haynesville Shale. Hopefully cyber command will come in and attract a lot more high tech companies. The film industry is going strong as well," Shaughnessy said. Statewide, Louisiana has a low unemployment rate of 3.8%. Texas has a statewide rate of 4.8% and Arkansas has the highest in the region at 5.3%. KTAL visited Job Corps here in Shreveport. The Job Corps center works to train and educate students, ages 16-24. Director Charlotte Jones said they try to teach students skills that will prepare them for jobs in growing industries. Students at Job Corps have a high success rate finding employment, Jones said. Students can train in a variety of areas from health care to welding. Job Corps trains up to 800 students each year, Jones said. Despite a rise in the unemployment rate, Jones said that Job Corps remains busy but has not been flooded with applicants.
