Baton Rouge, LA (July 14, 2022) – 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.
“The data this month shows what may be a ‘new normal’ in terms of travel and mobility,” said Andrew Fitzgerald, senior vice president of business intelligence for BRAC. “While hotel occupancy is above pre-pandemic levels, and retail and recreation travel is just shy of where it was in late 2021, workplace travel is still down nearly 18%. Most parts of peoples’ lives are back to what they were before COVID, but hybrid and remote work options appear to be sticky. It’s worth watching how this pattern may affect things like talent retention, employee benefits, or commercial office leasing.”
Key findings from this month’s dashboard include:
- Over the past two years, unemployment has fallen dramatically, employment is up, and the size of the region’s labor force has increased slightly;
- Baton Rouge’s Leisure & Hospitality sector has added 2,300 new jobs in the last two months;
- Demand for labor remains high despite fears of a potential economic downturn;
- Revenue per room for Capital Region hotels is up 17% in the last year;
- Most peer metros have either reached or are close to a full jobs recovery; and,
- Reduced travel to workplaces may reflect national data that show more people are working from home compared to pre-pandemic.
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.
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