State’s job growth over last 12 months biggest since the late ’90s, economist says

The job growth over the last four quarters in Louisiana was the biggest in nearly 20 years, one economist noted.

The state gained nearly 40,000 jobs over the previous 12 months, the largest gain since 1996-1997, and is expected to gain at least another 27,000 over the next 12 months, according to data compiled by Gary Wagner, Acadiana Business Economist with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, in his quarterly Louisiana Economic Activity Forecast.

The outlook for the state and the U.S. has improved in the last three months as inflation-adjusted gross domestic product growth is expected to be at 1.5% in Louisiana and 1.7% in the U.S.

Job growth is expected to remain strong in each of the state’s nine metro regions. Wages are expected to grow by more than 1% in seven metros over the next 12 months, he noted.

Home price growth, which cooled over the last two quarters, is expected to dip into negative territory in the second and third quarters of this year but it expected to rebound in the fourth quarter, he noted.

That follows four quarters of double-digit price growth from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the first three quarters of 2022, data shows.