The number of non-farm jobs in Louisiana has topped 2.01 million for the first time in state history. That’s according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Adam Knapp, the CEO of Leaders for a Better Louisiana, says it’s a major milestone, driven largely by growth in the construction industry.
“Obviously the big Meta data center project that’s up near Monroe, big LNG projects that are under construction; multiple ones over in the Lake Charles region, and a huge industrial expansion happening in the capital region,” Knapp said.
Knapp says Monroe posted the fastest job growth of any metro area, fueled by construction of Meta’s $50 billion data center in Richland Parish. He says six of the state’s ten metro areas added jobs, while Houma and Shreveport are among the four that lost jobs.
“Generally, I think overall, we’re still seeing expansion everywhere. They’ve had pretty big economic development projects also in Houma and Shreveport, so we expect to see upticks in those regions over the coming year,” Knapp noted.
While the construction boom has boosted employment, Knapp says he’s concerned Louisiana ranks among the lowest in the South for new business applications since 2019.
“It’s a good signal of stable economic activity, but you want to see that that’s also turning into new business activity; businesses being started at a faster rate,” Knapp said.
Knapp says the construction jobs are temporary. He says if new firms do not form behind the megaprojects, the boom risks leaving little residue.