It does not bode well for unemployment that, not only are more unemployed workers seeking jobs, but there also are fewer jobs to go around.

The proliferation of part-time jobs and higher unemployment undermine the power of workers to bargain for higher wages and demand for security of tenure. Contractual workers are not allowed to join the union. So, Mrs. Arroyo?s appeal to employers to reach a middle ground with workers in granting a wage hike is a hoax.

The tick up in the unemployment rate largely had to do with the fact that we had construction workers who basically had to file because of the rain and the stormy weather. When we have inclement weather like that, construction workers are not likely to work on the site. The majority that filed came from that industry.

Those unemployment figures do not include over 300 jobs lost in our Workforce Area 25, which includes the counties of Jefferson, Franklin, Perry, Jackson and Williamson.

While my state experiences unemployment rates not seen since the Great Depression, it is unconscionable that illegal workers would be brought into Louisiana, aggravating our employment crisis and depressing earnings for our workers.

The most important piece of this package is unemployment and health benefits for unemployed workers, ... Nothing more important.