This should cause the employment rate to increase and the unemployment rate to decrease for the month of April.
If historical trends holds true, January will likely show higher rates across much of the state as winter weather slows work in agriculture and construction jobs.
As spring arrives, outdoor business endeavors should increase causing the unemployment rate to continue to drop over the next couple of months.
The January rate was considerably higher than the 7.8 percent jobless rate recorded one year ago, confirming that damage from Hurricane Katrina continues to wreak havoc with the state's economy.
