BRAC's Quarterly State of the Region
BRAC's new Quarterly Dashboard provides a snapshot of the Capital Region's economy; this month we dive into key trends in job and wage growth, hotel occupancy, the newest migration data, and more
BRAC is launching its new Quarterly Economic Indicator Dashboard, replacing the previous Monthly Dashboard to offer a more comprehensive snapshot of the Capital Region's economy. This resource will deliver key insights and updates for all nine parishes, providing a broad view of regional economic trends.
Topics covered in this quarterly update include:
Job growth in the Capital Region
Employment growth by sector
Weekly earnings for private sector employees
Hotel occupancy rates in East Baton Rouge Parish
Job growth snapshot for the Capital Region and its peer (and aspirational) metros
Job postings versus unemployed workers
Unemployment claims
New young professional migration figures from the American Community Survey
New cost of living comparisons from the Council for Community & Economic Research
And, this quarter’s polling question!
Summary
In the Capital Region, job counts typically bottom out in July before rebounding in August. This year was no different - after Baton Rouge lost ~10,000 jobs in the early summer months, the metro gained 4,500 jobs in August as schools onboarded staff ahead of the new academic year.
Other key takeaways from this update include:
Construction and health care have been the Capital Region’s strongest sectors for job growth in the last year
Private sector earnings in Baton Rouge are second-highest in the state, up 7% in the last year
Baton Rouge’s job growth is strong compared to in-state peer metros, weaker compared to out-of-state peers
Job postings ticked up over the last two months, and are the highest they’ve been in the last year
New data show Baton Rouge had net negative migration in 2023, including among the region’s young professionals and among those with bachelor’s degrees
Read on to dive into the data and let us know what you want us to explore ahead of next quarter’s dashboard.
Key points from nonfarm jobs this quarter:
Jobs bounced up 4,500 in August after two months of declines
In August, government jobs were up almost 3,000
2,000 of these were local government jobs; August typically sees a boost in local government employment as schools start back up
Construction jobs were up 900 this month, up 7,300 in the last year
Key points from major sectors this quarter:
All construction sectors have grown in the last year:
Construction of buildings (+1,000)
Specialty trade contractors (+1,300)
Heavy & civil engineering (+5,000)
Health care jobs are up 1,000 in the last year
State government jobs are down 2,400 in the last year, the largest decline of the region’s top sectors
Retail jobs are down 900 in the last year
Many of the region’s largest sectors are relatively unchanged in the last year, including accommodations, local government, finance & insurance, and wholesale trade
Key points from private sector employee earnings this quarter:
Private sector earnings in Baton Rouge are second-highest in the state
Nominal earnings grew 7% in the last year, fifth-highest in the state after Monroe, Alexandria, Lake Charles, and Houma
Key points from hotel occupancy rates this quarter:
For much of this year, hotel occupancy across East Baton Rouge has been similar to 2023
From June onward, hotel occupancy was lower this year than in 2023
Key points from peer metros this quarter:
Capital Region job growth is strong compared to in-state peer metros, weaker compared to out-of-state peer metros
Key points from job postings and unemployed workers this quarter:
Job postings have increased in three straight months, up 31% since May, and are the highest they’ve been in a year
The number of unemployed workers has fallen slightly in the last two months
Baton Rouge’s labor force has grown by about 2,000 workers in the last year
The median advertised wage in job postings has increased 8% in the last year
East Baton Rouge Parish was home to 75% of all Capital Region job postings this quarter
The six most in-demand jobs this quarter were:
Registered nurses
Retail workers
Retail supervisors
Customer service reps
Truck drivers
Sales reps
The six top industries posting jobs this quarter were:
Hospitals
Government support services
Physicians offices
Limited-service restaurants
Hotels
Engineering services
Key points from this year’s net migration numbers:
New data released from the American Community Survey in September showed that the Baton Rouge Metro had net-negative migration for the second consecutive year
In 2023, 42,369 people moved into the Baton Rouge Metro while 46,353 moved away
Baton Rouge saw it’s worst young professional net migration since at least 2015
The Capital Region had 1,103 more people with bachelor’s degrees moving out than moving in during 2023
Key points from this quarter’s unemployment claims update:
Aggregate unemployment claims across the region are similar to this point last year
Key points from this quarter’s Cost of Living Index update:
Baton Rouge’s cost of living is 7% below the national average, in-line with peer and aspirational metros
Interested in reading more of our analyses? Check out the BR By The Numbers Archive or the Baton Rouge Area Chamber’s Research Page. If you want these reports delivered straight to your inbox, click the subscribe button below.
What do you want to hear more about in our next quarterly update?