Louisiana's unemployment rate held steady at 7 percent in July.
Louisiana's unemployment rate held steady at 7 percent in July.
A separate survey showed state employer payrolls fell slightly for the second straight month.
Both sets of figures - adjusted to cancel out normal seasonal changes - were released Monday by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Louisiana's unemployment rate was 6.6 percent in July 2012. Jobless rates had risen every month in 2013 before July.
The labor force and number of people reporting having a job were essentially flat.
Louisiana had 146,300 unemployed people in July, down from 146,700 in June, and up from 136,500 in July 2012.
Nonfarm payrolls fell by about 1,000 people in July, the second drop from a post-recession high in May. Payrolls remain more than 23,000 above a year ago.