The Baton Rouge area hit a jobs record after adding 2,300 jobs in April, according to the Baton Rouge Area Chamber’s latest economic indicator dashboard.
The nine-parish Capital Region is home to 426,100 jobs and 421,300 employed workers, the most in the region’s history. Baton Rouge has had monthly job gains in 15 of the last 22 months, while unemployment fell nearly a whole percentage point in April to 3%. The drop was the most significant one-month dip since October 2020.
Other findings from the dashboard include:
- The Capital Region’s construction sector continued its streak of job growth with 1,100 new jobs in April.
- Most peer metros are at or near all-time jobs records, and all saw unemployment fall based on the most recent federal data.
- Job postings have declined over the last year, but demand for labor remains high.
- Hotel occupancy and revenues were lower from May 26 to June 1 than in previous years during that span.
- The city of Baton Rouge’s population has fallen since 2020, but the rest of the metro has seen modest growth.
BRAC’s monthly economic indicator dashboards look at several data points to illustrate the current state of the Capital Region’s economy. View the data here.
