Key findings from this month’s dashboard include:Number of jobs in the region remained relatively flat from February to March, with a projected 300 jobs lost overall;Construction remains the only sector with double-digit percentage job loss, down 12.4% of its jobs from pre-pandemic, which translates to 5,900 lost jobs in total;The Capital Region saw a drop in weekly unemployment claims for the second consecutive week to 10,187 claims, which is still notably above the 2021 low of 7,898 claims in late March;Consumer spending in the three largest parishes was above pre-pandemic levels;Hotel occupancy is higher than the same week in 2019, while revenues are almost identical, indicating that travel to the region has picked up considerably since 2020. |