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 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.

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

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 employment report certainly was positive for most workers. I can't find an area where the unemployment rate didn't decrease for any particular group.

The unemployment rates dropped for the right reason -- because there were fewer workers on the unemployment rolls, not because workers have left the area because of a lack of jobs. That's an indication the economy is strong.