Ascension Parish economic development officials are trumpeting new figures that show the parish’s civilian labor force has passed the 50,000 mark. That’s important, because it puts the parish on the map for businesses and retailers, says Mike Eades, Ascension Economic Development Corporation president and CEO. “Many firms who are looking to expand won’t consider counties or parishes with less than 50,000 people in the civilian labor force,” Eades says.
The civilian labor force is made up of all the people in a parish who are working or actively looking for work. According to the Louisiana Workforce Commission, the Ascension civilian labor force was 50,275 in June and 50,060 in July. Eades says the parish’s labor force has grown by 29.5% in the past five years, from 38,800. Livingston Parish has a civilian labor force of more than 57,000; East Baton Rouge’s labor force is nearly 222,000.
