…At 4.7%, this is the third consecutive month that St. Tammany’s unemployment rate has trended downward.
St. Tammany Corporation has released its February edition of Snapshot: Impacts of COVID-19 on St. Tammany, which is a dashboard of timely, relevant, easy-to-understand data that continues to focus specifically on telling the story of St. Tammany through analysis of its economic characteristics. This report shows how, twelve months into the pandemic, the economic landscape in St. Tammany has been changed and provides context essential to economic recovery moving forward.
Some key takeaways from this edition include the parish unemployment rate is at its lowest since February 2020. At 4.7%, this is the third consecutive month that St. Tammany’s unemployment rate has trended downward. Consumer spending in St. Tammany has recovered compared to the same time last year, while small businesses revenues show a much rockier improvement and remain down more than half. Nationwide, more than a third of adults have struggled to pay for basic living expenses, and another third project that they will experience housing insecurity in the next two months as Americans await another federal stimulus package.
Chris Masingill, CEO of St. Tammany Corporation, says they are encouraged that the unemployment rate in St. Tammany Parish continues to decline each month in the midst of the ongoing pandemic. He said it means more St. Tammany residents are getting back to work as businesses continue to prioritize economic recovery while safely navigating the public health crisis at the same time.
