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.
“Although Baton Rouge continues to set regional records for labor demand based on job postings, June saw an increase in unemployment, particularly in the governmental sector,” said Andrew Fitzgerald, senior vice president of business intelligence for BRAC. “The Capital Region regularly sees an employment dip from June to August in government jobs, which may be related to seasonal education employment. While most metrics remain strong, job numbers stubbornly remain notably off from pre-pandemic, particularly in the construction sector, which remains nearly 15% (6,400 jobs) below its pre-COVID level. Government and construction account for about 85% of the missing jobs from our February 2020 count.”
Key findings from this month’s dashboard include:
- June job losses were concentrated in the government sector, which accounted for more than the majority of job losses. This is likely due to seasonal employment trends, particularly in public education;
- The manufacturing industry has added 800 jobs over the last two months, and manufacturing jobs are up 6.8% compared to this time last year;
- While travel to retail and recreation locations is just below pre-pandemic levels, consumer spending remains well above January 2020;
- Revenue per room for Capital Region hotels is up 9% compared to this time last year; and,
- More than half of Louisiana households are having difficulty paying for household expenses, but Baton Rouge residents may be doing better than the statewide averages would indicate due to higher median household incomes.
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.
Alerts Sign-up