BR-area jobs up 1% in May
Acadiana leads state in growth
The number of jobs in Baton Rouge increased a slight 1 percent in May compared with a year ago, as the Capital Region posted increases in the number of goods-producing jobs, the Louisiana Workforce Commission reported Friday in its monthly jobs report.
Those types of jobs include areas such as construction, oil and gas, and manufacturing sectors.
Nonfarm employment in the Baton Rouge metro region was at 373,500 jobs in May, an increase of 3,800 from a year ago, the report said.
Across the state, nonfarm employment increased 39,800 jobs in May, compared with a year ago, an increase of just slightly more than 2 percent.
“The state is still growing in excess of 2 percent, which is a very healthy growth rate and is the envy of most of our southern neighbors to the east and north,” Loren Scott, a retired Louisiana economist, said after the state released its statewide jobs data last week. “The data for May show we are still growing at an annual rate of nearly 40,000 jobs for the year. That is very solid and much better than we predicted back in October.”
The report represents corrected data by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics after errors were discovered in the April 2010 through April 2012 employment survey information.
Among the state’s other labor markets:
LAFAYETTE: It continued to lead the state with the most robust job growth, posting a 10.5 percent increase in employment — or 15,800 jobs in the past year. Lafayette showed strong gains in both the goods-producing and service-providing sectors.
HOUMA: It reported a 5,700-job gain in May, which translates to 6.2 percent for the 12-month period. The region showed a large increase in service-providing sector jobs.
SHREVEPORT-BOSSIER: Job gains were mostly flat, though the region did grow its workforce by 800 jobs in the past year, or 0.4 percent
MONROE: It also added a near negligible number of jobs — 100.
LAKE CHARLES: It was one of three of the state’s metro regions to show a loss of jobs, loosing 1,200 since May 2011 — or 1.3 percent.
NEW ORLEANS: By far still the largest metro region in the state — also posted a slight decrease of 500 jobs in the past year, due in part to a 6,300-job loss in the goods-producing sectors.
ALEXANDRIA: It posted the greatest loss, shedding 3.3 percent, or 2,000 jobs from a year ago.