Louisiana outpaces national average in several economic sectors, report says

BATON ROUGE, La. (KNOE) – Nearly 20,000 nonfarm jobs were added in Louisiana between August, 2024 and August, 2025 according to a new report from the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry.

According to the lobbying group’s annual report, Louisiana added 19,100 nonfarm jobs, marking a 0.96% job growth rate and placing the Pelican State 24th in the nation during that time frame.

“This reflects a notable improvement from prior years, when Louisiana consistently ranked near the bottom nationally, and indicates that recent economic momentum is translating into measurable employment gains,” said the report.

The Monroe region had a 0.7% job growth rate, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Other Louisiana metros ranked include:

• Alexandria: 1.0% growth
• Baton Rouge: 0.2% growth
• Hammond: 0.2% growth
• Houma-Thibodaux: 0.9% growth
• Lafayette: 1.2% growth
• Lake Charles: 0.8% growth
• New Orleans-Metairie: 0.6% growth
• Shreveport-Bossier City: 1.3% growth
• Slidell-Mandeville-Covington: 1.6% growth

Louisiana beat the national average in several industry sectors:

• Total job growth:
  • Louisiana: 1.0% growth
  • National: 0.9% growth
• Manufacturing:
  • Louisiana: 2.6% growth
  • National: -0.6% growth
• Leisure and Hospitality:
  • Louisiana: 4.5% growth
  • National: 3.2% growth

Based on the report, Louisiana also placed 24th in the nation for wage growth during the same time frame. Louisianans saw a 3.52% wage growth compared to a 3.45% increase for the middle third of the nation. Between 2019 and 2024, Louisiana saw wage growth of 1.25% compared with 3.60% for the middle third of the nation.

Education on the rise

End-of-year reading literacy has seen a 17 point increase for K-3 students during the 2024-2025 school year, the report said.

• Kindergarten: 33-point increase
• First grade: 19-point increase
• Second grade: 11-point increase
• Third grade: 8-point increase

Crime going down

Crime and public safety are also improving across the state.

Violent crime is down 12.5%, while the property crime rate is down 13.3% from 2021.

To read more information on the report, click here.

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