Baton Rouge gains 3,800 jobs

Manufacturing and construction helped give the Baton Rouge metro region some 3,800 more jobs in June than it had the year before, the Louisiana Workforce Commission reported Thursday.

Five of the state’s eight metro regions showed nonfarm job growth in June, with Alexandria and Monroe posting losses from a year ago while Lake Charles was flat.

Lafayette continues to outpace the rest of the state in job growth, picking up 15,300 jobs over the 12-month period, an increase of 10.2 percent, according to labor market data. The service-providing sector, which includes retail, financial activities, health care and other areas, have added some 9,500 jobs to Acadiana in the last year, the labor market report indicates.

Job growth in New Orleans was nearly flat, an uptick of only 1,500 jobs in June, or 0.3 percent. The state’s largest metro region experienced losses in goods-producing employment, which includes areas such as manufacturing and construction, while picking up 8,200 jobs in service-providing sectors.

Houma picked up 4,500 jobs in June, compared with a year ago, a 4.9 percent increase. Job gains were spread across all sectors in Houma.

Job activity in Lake Charles was flat, even though the region added 1,100 service-providing jobs in June, compared with a year ago.

Shreveport saw modest gains in June, picking up 1,200 jobs, a 0.7 percent increase.

Monroe lost 700 jobs in June, a 0.9 percent decline. Most of the losses were in the service-providing sectors.

Alexandria lost 1,100 jobs in the last year, a drop of 1.7 percent, with most of those in the service-providing sector as well.

Not seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment in Louisiana was estimated at 1,947,900 in June, an over-the-year increase of 48,300 jobs.