Unemployment in Louisiana is showing little sign of getting better. According to a new study, among states trying to get people back working, Louisiana is at the bottom of the list.

We are living in times of historic, record levels of unemployment in the U.S., and here in Louisiana, due to the pandemic. As of this day, there are 313,000 continued state unemployment claims.

“Right now the outlook for Louisiana, the economy as well as the broader labor market, it’s certainly a dicey one,” said Ali Bustamante, chief economist at the Louisiana Workforce Commission. “Certainly we have yet to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Louisiana is not doing well when it comes to the number of people out of work. According to a survey by Wallethub, Louisiana is the worst in the nation for recovering from unemployment claims.

“This is unchartered ground when it comes to the pandemic. We don’t have a playbook. We’re accustomed to natural disasters, and other types of both man made and natural disasters here in Louisiana. However, a pandemic is not what we’ve experienced in the recent past. It’s something we as a country, and as the world, are trying to get a handle on.”

There are nearly 18 million Americans out of work. Last week, there were more than one million new jobless claims. According to the survey, when you compare the period of time from when the stay at home order and economic shutdown began to now (mid-March to present), to the same period of time last year, unemployment in Louisiana is nearly off the chart, skyrocketing more than 2,000% or nearly 3 times as much.

Bustamante says we’re a long way from being out of the woods.

“We’re looking at right now, nationally, as well as in Louisiana, is a pandemic-triggered recession. What i mean by that is, as long as the pandemic is a threat, irrespective of where they live, irrespective of what occupation or industry they work in, we’re going to see the pandemic having, fueling this considerable recession prolonged as long as the virus is out there being a threat.”