When Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal touts the state's job market and New Orleans Mayor Ra

y Nagin sells his city as one of the best places to ride out the recession, it's not just routine boosterism.

In the midst of a severe nationwide downturn, the Louisiana economy is holding up better than most. It's a role reversal from a few years ago, when Louisiana was one of the country's weaker states financially following the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina.

The state has the 10th lowest unemployment rate and was the only state to add nonfarm jobs in February, the most recent month for which data are available. Sales tax collections in New Orleans have risen close to levels seen before Katrina. And foreclosure rates have remained low by national standards, in part because the state never experienced a housing bubble.

What's unclear is how long the state can keep the downturn's worst demons at bay. March state-by-state employment data, which the Labor Department releases Friday, will offer fresh insights.

The major reconstruction effort that continues more than three and a half years after Katrina partly explains why Louisiana state has been fairly insulated from the worst of the recession.

How many states have a lower unemployment rate than Louisiana？

A．9

B．10

C．11

D．49