On Labor Day, Louisiana officials are touting a strong state of the state’s workforce, with more than 2.01 million people now working — the highest employment level in state history.
Louisiana Workforce Commission Secretary Susie Schowen says the record number of workers is a sign that the state’s economy continues to grow.
“Over the last year, we added 33,000 people to our labor force,” Schowen said.
Schowen credits a wave of economic development projects across Louisiana with helping drive the state’s employment gains.
Billions of dollars in new industrial, energy and technology investments are generating construction jobs and creating additional employment opportunities in communities across the state.
“We are seeing significant needs in construction, manufacturing, transportation, anything to do with infrastructure,” Schowen said.
Construction is underway on multiple data centers and LNG facilities. Work will soon begin on a massive Hyundai steel mill in Ascension Parish and SpaceX’s rocket launching complex in coastal Vermilion Parish.
Schowen says those projects are putting a lot of people to work.
“About 90,000 jobs created because of these mega projects and the specific multiplier jobs in the community that result from those projects,” Schowen said.
Schowen says the state is even diversifying its white-collar industries, with significant job growth in sectors like financial services. She says wages have increased more than six-percent over the last year, making Louisiana one of a select number of states where wage growth is outpacing inflation.
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