The Greater Baton Rouge Economic Partnership says the Capital Region leads comparable metro areas in job growth. Andrew Fitzgerald, the senior vice president of strategy and research, says the region added 13,700 jobs over the past year, with construction accounting for much of the growth.
“12,300 new workers in the construction sector alone in the Capital Region,” Fitzgerald noted.
Fitzgerald says the Capital Region now has more than 58,000 construction jobs. He points to two major projects fueling that growth: Hut 8’s $10 billion AI data center in West Feliciana Parish and Hyundai Steel’s mill in Ascension Parish.
Fitzgerald says workers are moving to the Baton Rouge area to fill some of those jobs, while local residents are also getting the education and training needed to join the workforce.
“There’s been a big push to get people in two-year degree and one-year certificate program training after high school; and so you do have some homegrown talent going into both the healthcare sector but here, especially, the skilled trades and construction,” Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald says the region also has an affordability advantage. Since 2019, home values and rents have increased less in the Baton Rouge area than in comparable metro areas.
“Costs are up, but they’re up less drastically than some other parts of the country. We’re seeing that for gasoline costs as well; electricity and groceries too,” Fitzgerald explained.
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