According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of people employed in the Bayou State has exceeded two million people for a record-setting seventh consecutive month. Adam Knapp, the CEO of Leaders for a Better Louisiana, says there’s been a growing number of construction jobs, with the building of a new AI data center in Richland Parish, plus large industrial construction projects in south Louisiana.
“And that activity, among otherwise healthy hiring, has boosted overall employment,” Knapp said.
In 2015, Louisiana had a four-month stretch where the number of people employed in Louisiana was more than two million, but the job total then slipped below two million for a decade. But Knapp says it appears two-million jobs is the new normal, and the whole state is seeing higher employment numbers.
“Sometimes you’ll see Northshore is up, but Monroe is down. Well, this is really a period where projects are being announced across almost the entire state right now,” Knapp said.
Knapp says Louisiana is only about 2,000 jobs away from setting an all-time record for nonfarm jobs. That was set in 2014. He says breaking the all-time jobs record is likely since the state’s economic outlook for this year looks strong.
“Project volume is high. The lead activity is high that we would talk to all the regions of government partners about. So it just looks like there’s a continued confidence in the state for investment and job expansion,” Knapp noted.