A recent U.S. Labor Department report indicated that unemployment in the Lake Charles metro area has jumped by 1 percent from November 2013 to last November. But one local official challenges those statistics, saying more people will be employed next year as construction on multibillion-dollar industrial projects begins.

According to the report, by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment rates from one November to the next were higher in 27 metro areas, with eight Louisiana metro areas seeing the 10 fastest-growing rates.

“It doesn’t make sense when you see all the things that are happening,” said George Swift, president and CEO of the Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance. “The only estimation I can have is that it might be a temporary condition. The projection is there will be 10,000 more workers employed in August 2015 than we do now.”

The other Louisiana metro areas listed: Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, 1.1 percent; Baton Rouge 1.1 percent; Lafayette, 1.1 percent; Shreveport, 1.2 percent; New Orleans-Metarie-Kenner, 1.4 percent; Monroe, 1.5 percent; and Alexandria, 1.6 percent.

Economist Loren Scott said the problem with the report is that the sample sizes are “too small and too unrepresentative” of unemployment rates, particularly for areas like Lake Charles.

“It’s a bad statistic,” he said. “Unemployment rates bounce all over the place. I would be surprised if they talked to anyone from Lake Charles.”

Swift said the numbers also do not take into account the 2,000 workers hired at the Golden Nugget casino, which opened earlier this month.

“We’re going to be leading the nation in job creation and growth; that’s what I’m focused on,” he said. “I think that anyone who wants a job will be able to find one, and the more skills they have, the better chance they are going to find one.”

The rising unemployment rates could be an indication that more people are coming to the area quicker than they can find jobs. Swift said there’s “no doubt” people who are coming to the Lake Area are looking for work.

“All you have to do is look at the license tags and notice people are coming here,” he said.

Scott said construction companies have had to increase their wage rates in the last year or two to get people outside the area to come to Southwest Louisiana.

Swift said people looking for work should make sure they have the skills and training necessary to get hired. He said job fields like construction, health care, accounting and technology will all need new hires.

“It’s pretty much the entire range of workers,” Swift said.

(MGNonline)