LaSalle posts 2nd lowest jobless rate

LaSalle Parish recorded the second-lowest unemployment rate among Louisiana’s 64 parishes in August, according to preliminary figures from the Louisiana Workforce Commission.

The parish’s jobless rate was 3%, down from 3.6% in July. It is the lowest rate LaSalle has posted so far in 2026. Of the parish’s labor force of 6,139, about 5,953 people were employed and 186 were unemployed.

Only West Feliciana Parish, part of the Baton Rouge metro area, had a lower rate, at 2.6%. That makes LaSalle’s rate the lowest in central and north Louisiana. Apart from West Feliciana, no parish north of the Interstate 10 corridor posted a lower figure.

LaSalle’s rate was below the state’s rate of 3.7% for the month. Parish figures are not seasonally adjusted, and the 3.7% state figure is the comparable unadjusted number. Adjusted for seasonal swings, Louisiana’s rate was 4.2%, and the national rate was 4.1%.

Ascension Parish had the third-lowest rate in the state, at 3.1%, followed by Lafayette Parish at 3.2%. Bossier, Lafourche, Livingston and Plaquemines parishes tied for fifth at 3.3%.

At the other end of the list, East Carroll Parish had the state’s highest unemployment rate, at 10%. Tensas Parish was second at 6.2%, followed by St. Helena Parish at 5.6%, Claiborne Parish at 5.4% and Concordia Parish at 5.3%.

All of LaSalle’s neighbors posted higher rates than LaSalle in August, though each improved from July: Rapides and Grant parishes: 3.5% each Caldwell Parish: 3.9% Winn Parish: 4% Avoyelles Parish: 4.1% Catahoula Parish: 4.3%

LaSalle’s rate has ranged from 3% to 4.2% this year. The high came in June, when rates rose across much of the state.

The August figures are preliminary and may be revised when the commission releases September data.