Baton Rouge, LA (January 12, 2023) – The Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) today released its monthly economic indicator dashboard that examines and analyzes the state of the regional economy. To download this month’s indicator dashboard directly, click here.
“While employment in the Capital Region is at an all-time high and nearly every parish has seen a year-over-year increase in wages – both positive indicators of economic health – these positives bring on other factors to turn focus to,” said Andrew Fitzgerald, senior vice president of business intelligence for BRAC. “The high level of employment and low unemployment rate mean that businesses looking to grow their workforce will have a harder time doing so, as there are nearly three job openings for every resident out of work but looking for a job. These new factors give way to the increased need for talent retention and attraction efforts, which are key priorities in BRAC’s five-year strategic plan. So, although there are many positive data points as one looks at the Baton Rouge metro economy, there are still other key factors we must observe and tackle as our economy continues to grow.”
Key findings from this month’s dashboard include:
- Baton Rouge has a record-low unemployment rate, largest labor force since 2018;
- Nonfarm jobs and employment both increased by about 6,000 jobs/workers over the past two months;
- 2,400 new jobs in November caps off five straight months of job gains;
- Revenues per hotel room remain above pre-pandemic levels;
- All peer metros have added jobs over the past year, and Baton Rouge is just 0.5% away from recovering all jobs lost during COVID; and,
- Average weekly wage growth in some industries, parishes kept up inflation during 2022.
BRAC’s Economic Indicator Dashboard looks at a number of data points to illustrate the economy’s current state. With data from a number of regional stakeholders, the dashboard is the most real-time analysis of the Baton Rouge metro economy available.
BRAC’s business intelligence team provides custom research services on a competitive fee-for-service basis, including labor market research, economic impact modeling, demographic and economic data, and general research and consulting. Interested businesses may contact Senior Vice President of Business Intelligence Andrew Fitzgerald at andrew@brac.org.
About the Baton Rouge Area Chamber
The Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) is an aggressively ambitious regional economic development organization with a bias for action. BRAC seeks to push Baton Rouge beyond the status quo, unleash its potential, and support a vibrant business community that believes the finish line does not exist. BRAC seeks to accelerate economic opportunity in the Baton Rouge Area, for everyone, through BRING IT! Baton Rouge, its five-year, regional strategic plan. Learn more about BRAC at brac.org.
Original source can be found here.
