Many of Louisiana's major metropolitan areas saw unemployment rates increase from December 2021 to December 2022, new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows, even while the state saw record-low unemployment for much of the year.

All of Louisiana's nine metro areas' unemployment rates increased from November to December 2022 as well, with the state seeing its rate increase for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Economists and business leaders will be paying close attention to the unemployment rate over the course of 2023, amid concerns of worker shortages and a potential recession.

More:Louisiana's unemployment rate rose in December. Here's what you should know

Here's what you should know about the unemployment rates in Louisiana's big cities.

Where is unemployment growing the fastest?

The Hammond metro area, one of the state's smallest by population, saw the largest increase between November and December. The rate rose from 3.6% to 4.2%.

Seven metro areas — Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Monroe, New Orleans-Metairie, Houma-Thibodaux and Shreveport-Bossier — saw their rates increase by 0.4 percentage points. Lake Charles had the smallest increase at 0.3 percentage points, rising from 2.7% to 3%.

Over the course of 2022, Hammond had the largest increase. In December 2021, the area had an unemployment rate of 2.6%, rising 1.6 percentage points by December 2022. New Orleans-Metairie had an increase of 0.9 points, followed by Shreveport-Bossier at 0.8.

Is the labor force shrinking in Louisiana cities?

In terms of the total labor force, the state's metro areas are split. Three of the state's nine metros saw the labor forces decrease from December 2021 to December 2022, and five saw the labor force shrink from November to December.

From December 2021 to December 2022, the Lafayette area had the biggest decline by percentage, with its labor force losing nearly 1,700 people or 2.1%. Hammond lost 1.4% of its labor force over that period, and Monroe lost about 0.04%.

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Lake Charles had the largest gain over the period, adding nearly 3,700 or 3.4%, followed by Shreveport-Bossier, which added 1,844 or 2.8%. Houma-Thibodaux was third, with its labor force growing by 800 workers or 2%.

From November to December 2022, Monroe had the largest decline by percentage, falling by a little more than 1%. Both Alexandria and New Orleans-Metairie saw declines around 0.9%.

Houma-Thibodaux and Hammond led the way in labor force growth over the month, with both growing by around 0.7%.

How do Louisiana's cities compare to others?

Of the nearly 400 metro areas included in the BLS data, three Louisiana metros ranked in the top 100 for labor force percent growth from December 2021 to December 2022. Lake Charles ranked 31st, Shreveport-Bossier was 56th and Houma-Thibodaux was 99th.

From November to December, three Louisiana metros again were in the top 100: Houma-Thibodaux was 31st, Hammond was 32nd, and Shreveport-Bossier was No. 100.

While the growing number of workers is usually a positive sign, many Louisiana metros are also seeing their unemployment rates grow at a faster rate than many metros across the nation. From December 2021 to December 2022, all nine of Louisiana's metro areas were in the top 100 for unemployment rate increase.

For yearly increase, Hammond was third, New Orleans-Metairie was 24th, Shreveport-Bossier was 33rd, Monroe was 40th, Houma-Thibodaux was 43rd, Lafayette was 49th, Lake Charles was 56th, Baton Rouge was 57th and Alexandria was 74th.

From November to December, all of Louisiana's metropolitan statistical areas were again in the top 100 for fastest-rising unemployment rates. Hammond was 21st, Houma-Thibodaux was 35th, New Orleans-Metairie was 45th, Shreveport-Bossier was 47th, Monroe was 49th, Lafayette was 51st, Baton Rouge was 53rd, Alexandria was 56th, and Lake Charles was 75th.

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This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Unemployment rate rising in Louisiana's big cities