For the first time since LSUS economist Douglas White started keeping the numbers for his quarterly regional economic dashboard, he is concerned. In the measured words of an economist, the data has given him “pause.”
The local unemployment rate is now at 4.7% across the Shreveport-Bossier Metro Statistical Area, but 5% in Caddo Parish alone. “You know, in Caddo Parish, that’s usually where we start paying attention and getting a little concerned.”
It is also important to remember that the 5% number only represents those people actively looking for a job. “As far as the people who have opted out, they don’t even count (in the reporting)”, said White.
Several warning signs
That data is joined by local sales tax revenue that is trending almost flat year over year, and a cooling housing market…