Lafayette Daily Advertiser Louisiana ended 2020 with an unemployment rate of 7.2% in December, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, marking the lowest rate since March. On the year, Louisiana had an average unemployment rate of 8.8% — an increase of four percentage points from the 4.8% in 2019. It was the highest average unemployment rate the state has had in a year since 1988 when the rate was 10.9%. "Louisiana weathered a global pandemic and multiple hurricanes in 2020,” said Louisiana Workforce Commission Secretary Ava Dejoie. "The job gains we are witnessing shows the resiliency of the people of Louisiana. Storm recovery and the potential of the newly released COVID-19 vaccines point to a much brighter 2021.”