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This information is pre-Katrina.
Although the information on this page is out-of-date, we are continuing to make it available, as it provides insight about this parish pre-Katrina. You may find outdated information and broken links.

For current data about the Greater New Orleans area, visit our homepage.

St. Bernard Parish: Employment

Data Tables:  People & Household CharacteristicsHousing & Housing Costs, Income & Poverty, Transportation, Employment, Educational Attainment, Schools & Testing, Immigration & Language, Disabilities, Health, Public Safety, Voting, Parish Characteristics

Especially when looking at employment figures, you'll find that some Census terms have definitions that are technically different from how we use those words in everyday conversation. We've tried to bridge the difference with commentary and links to the technical definition for each indicator.

What does 'in the labor force' mean? People are only considered 'in the labor force' when they are actively employed or looking for work. People who have become 'discouraged workers' (meaning they have stopped seeking employment) would be in the category 'not in the labor force' along with students, stay-at-home parents, and retirees.
Definitions and source links

Division of labor force (2000)  
 St. Bernard Parish
  Louisiana
  United
States
Total population 16 years and over  
    52,363
    3,394,546
    217,168,077
  Not in labor force  
  40.3%
  40.6%
  36.1%
  In Armed Forces  
  0.3%
  0.5%
  0.5%
  Employed  
  56.0%
  54.6%
  59.7%
  Unemployed  
  3.4%
  4.3%
  3.7%

Source Citation: U.S. Census Bureau. Census 2000 Sample Characteristics (SF3). From a compilation by the GNO Community Data Center. <http://www.gnocdc.org>

This unemployment number is different than what you hear on the news! The percent of people who are unemployed that is calculated above is unrelated to the national unemployment rate. It cannot be compared to the national rate that comes from the US Dept of Labor. What you can do is compare the percentages on this page to each other to see how your parish contrasts with the United States as a whole.

Definitions and source links

Employment by industry (2000)  
 St. Bernard Parish
  Louisiana
  United
States
Total employed civilian population 16 years and over  
  29,303
  1,851,777
  129,721,512
  Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining  
  1.9%
  4.2%
  1.9%
  Construction  
  9.2%
  7.9%
  6.8%
  Manufacturing  
  10.8%
  10.1%
  13.8%
  Wholesale trade  
  4.6%
  3.5%
  3.6%
  Retail trade  
  12.5%
  11.9%
  11.7%
  Transportation and warehousing, and utilities  
  7.0%
  5.3%
  5.2%
  Information  
  1.6%
  2.0%
  3.1%
  Finance, insurance, real estate and rental and leasing  
  6.8%
  5.7%
  6.9%
  Professional, scientific, and technical  
  4.9%
  4.6%
  5.9%
  Management of companies and enterprises  
  0.0%
  0.0%
  0.1%
   Administrative and support and waste management services  
  3.1%
  3.0%
  3.4%
  Educational services  
  6.6%
  9.6%
  8.8%
  Health care and social assistance  
  10.4%
  12.1%
  11.2%
  Arts, entertainment, and recreation  
  2.6%
  2.4%
  1.8%
   Accommodation and food services  
  7.1%
  6.7%
  6.1%
  Other services (except public administration)  
  4.9%
  5.2%
  4.9%
  Public administration  
  6.0%
  5.8%
  4.8%

Source Citation: U.S. Census Bureau. Census 2000 Sample Characteristics (SF3). From a compilation by the GNO Community Data Center. <http://www.gnocdc.org>

Definitions and source links

Veteran status (2000)  
 St. Bernard Parish
  Louisiana
  United
States
Total population 18 years and over  
    50,263
    3,250,523
    209,279,149
  Currently in Armed Forces  
  0.3%
  0.6%
  0.5%
  Veteran  
  12.7%
  12.1%
  12.6%
  Never served in Armed Forces  
  87.0%
  87.3%
  86.9%

Source Citation: U.S. Census Bureau. Census 2000 Sample Characteristics (SF3). From a compilation by the GNO Community Data Center. <http://www.gnocdc.org>

Part-time work

To learn more about issues surrounding the economic impact of part-time work, we recommend starting with the following article:

Part-time Work: A Mobilizing Issue by Chris Tilly, published in New Politics in 1998.

It is not clear what the economic consequences of part-time work are. The issues lie in the definition of the term... whether you mean part-time, seasonal, or temporary work and whether people are working multiple part-time jobs, and whether people want to be working part-time. The Census data gives a simple overview but may not catch some of these finer distinctions.

In the table below, you'll find breakdowns of how many hours a week people worked (at one or or more jobs), as well as how much of the year they worked (which may indicate seasonal employment).

Definitions and source links

Hours at work in 1999 (2000)  
 St. Bernard Parish
  Louisiana
  United
States
Total population 16 years and over  
  52,363
  3,394,546
  217,168,077
  Worked full-time (35+ hours per week)  
  51.4%
  51.2%
  54.9%
  Worked part-time (15-34 hours per week)  
  10.1%
  10.4%
  11.7%
  Worked very part-time (1-14 hours per week)  
  2.4%
  2.6%
  2.9%
  Did not work  
  36.1%
  35.8%
  30.5%
Weeks at work in 1999 (2000)  
 St. Bernard Parish
  Louisiana
  United
States
Total population 16 years and over  
  52,363
  3,394,546
  217,168,077
  Worked 50-52 weeks  
  45.3%
  41.2%
  46.1%
  Worked 40-49 weeks  
  6.0%
  7.7%
  8.9%
  Worked 27-39 weeks  
  3.8%
  4.9%
  4.7%
  Worked 14-26 weeks  
  5.0%
  5.5%
  5.2%
  Worked 1-13 weeks  
  3.8%
  4.9%
  4.6%
  Did not work  
  36.1%
  35.8%
  30.5%
Source Citation: U.S. Census Bureau. Census 2000 Sample Characteristics (SF3). From a compilation by the GNO Community Data Center. <http://www.gnocdc.org>
Note:
Hours at work during the week may be from multiple part-time jobs, or a single job. A person working 40 hours/week at multiple part-time jobs may not have the financial security that someone working 40 hours in a single job with benefits would.

Download this pre-Katrina data for all 10 parishes.

Data Tables:  People & Household CharacteristicsHousing & Housing Costs, Income & Poverty, Transportation, Employment, Educational Attainment, Schools & Testing, Immigration & Language, Disabilities, Health, Public Safety, Voting, Parish Characteristics

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Last modified: June 4, 2003