Louisiana adds 37,600 jobs in January, thanks to gains in New Orleans, Baton Rouge

Louisiana had 37,600 more jobs in January than it did a year earlier, thanks to significant gains in New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

There were nearly 1.93 million nonfarm jobs in January, compared to 1.89 million in January 2022, according to figures released Monday by the Louisiana Workforce Commission. The numbers are not seasonally adjusted. Month-to-month job numbers dropped because of the effects of seasonal hiring in sectors such as retail and transportation; there were 25,400 fewer people working in January than December.

New Orleans added 16,100 jobs compared to January 2022. The number of health care and social assistance jobs increased by 4,400 over the year, while accommodation and food service jobs went up by 4,100. The number of employment service jobs dropped by 1,500.

Baton Rouge added 12,400 jobs from January 2022 to January. Construction added 4,100 jobs, while leisure and hospitality added 2,300 jobs over the period.

Lafayette had an 1,800 job gain from January 2022. Manufacturing and Mining, logging and construction were both up by 1,100, and health care and social assistance increased by 1,000. The number of retail trade jobs fell by 1,400 year to year.

Lake Charles was the only metro area in the state to post a year-to-year drop in the number of jobs in January, falling from 95,900 to 94,700. The number of construction jobs fell by 2,400, which offset the addition of 1,100 service jobs.

Shreveport-Bossier City added 1,500 jobs in January, compared to January 2022, while Houma-Thibodaux added 1,300 jobs, Alexandria was up by 1,200, Monroe was up by 200 and Hammond increased by 100.

Louisiana’s civilian labor force topped 2 million in January, up from 1.98 million in January 2022. The number of unemployed people fell from 87,108 in January 2022 to 75,729. That caused the unemployment rate statewide to drop from 4.2% to 3.6%.

The unemployment rates in all of the state’s metro areas dropped in January compared to the year before. New Orleans dropped from 4.6% to 3.7%, Lafayette fell from 3.9% to 3.4% and Baton Rouge was down from 3.8% to 3.2%.