State Of Labor On This Labor Day

Many are out enjoying the Labor Day Holiday today, but what is the actual state of labor in Louisiana? LSU Economist Loren Scott says depending on where you live, some industries are booming. He says Baton Rouge and Lake Charles are doing very well when it comes to employment, but it’s not so good in areas like Houma or Lafayette.

“They are really getting hit very, very hard. Houma’s lost about 10,000 jobs and is still losing jobs and it looks like Lafayette has lost more jobs than that.”

The Louisiana Workforce Commission says Baton Rouge gained 95-hundred jobs over the last year and Lake Charles gained 3,100. Scott says these numbers are from a big boom in construction employment. But he says the oil industry continues to be a drag on the state’s labor market.

“A lot depends on how quickly the Gulf of Mexico comes back and right now the Gulf of Mexico is going in exactly the opposite direction, still has a very bad western lease sale.”

Scott says the Shreveport area has taken a little bit of a hit, because of the downturn in the energy industry, while the employment picture remains stagnant in central Louisiana.

“The middle of the state doesn’t have a great deal going on, either bad or good, in the Alexandria or Monroe area.”