The number of people working in metro Baton Rouge grew by more than 3,000 people from January 2008 to January 2009, according to figures released this afternoon by the Louisiana Workforce Commission. Despite the increase in the number of workers, the number of unemployed people in metro Baton Rouge was up by more than 4,600 from year to year, and the local unemployment rate went from 4.3% in January 2008 to 5.4% in January 2009. That’s still below the state unemployment average of 5.7% and the national average of 8.5%. Overall, the number of jobs in Louisiana increased by 4,800 workers from January 2008 to this year. While that’s a good sign, Tim Barfield, LWC executive director, notes that 12,300 jobs were lost from December to January. That validates that Louisiana is feeling the effects of the national recession, especially in the northern parts of the state, which has been impacted by job losses in the auto and paper industries.
B.R. jobs increase slightly during year
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