Newly released data from the Labor Department is showing Louisiana had the highest unemployment numbers in the country before the coronavirus crisis hit.
Federal authorities released their March report over the weekend that showed before the state's economy shut down, Louisiana had an unemployment rate at 6.9%.
Walter Lane, Chair of Economics at the University of New Orleans says with jobs lost during the pandemic, the state could now be seeing jobless numbers hitting near 25%.
Economists point to a pre-pandemic drop in oil prices as Russia and OPEC engaged in a price war as the reason for the poor numbers before the crisis.
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