BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Louisiana's debt load has declined for the first time in a decade, a notable benchmark in a state trying to get a handle on its finances after years of budget gaps and record borrowing.

  

But the amount Louisiana owes for every man, woman, and child still outstrips the national average.

  

An updated debt report presented to the State Bond Commission shows Louisiana's per capita, tax-supported debt dipped to $1,497 in 2018. That's down $61 per person from $1,558 a year earlier, as the state works to shrink its outstanding obligations for construction projects.

  

It was the first drop in the debt load since 2008, after years of continued rises. Louisiana owes an amount per state resident that is lower than in 2014, when it hovered slightly above $1,500.