The average worker in the Baton Rouge metro area earned $20.50 per hour in May 2014, or about 10% less than the national average of $22.71, according to new figures released this morning by the U.S Department of Labor.
The report also shows construction sector jobs were among those that dominated the area last May, but that average pay for those jobs was typically lower than the national average.
“Baton Rouge had 35,540 jobs in construction and extraction, accounting for 9.3% of local area employment, more than double the 3.9% national share,” reads the report. “However, at $20.30 per hour, the local average hourly wage for this occupational group was about 9% below the national $22.40.”
Construction laborers, at roughly 4,620 total, accounted for the largest share of workers in the construction and extraction sector, followed by carpenters and electricians (at approximately 3,650 each). While laborers earned an average of $14.76 per hour, carpenters and electricians earned $18.93 and $23.41, respectively. The highest paid jobs in the construction industry in Baton Rouge last May were rotary drill operators for oil and gas projects, at $35.34 per hour, followed by first-line supervisors, at $30.40 per hour.
While construction jobs here accounted for a much higher share of total employment than the sector did on a national level last May, it wasn’t the top source of jobs. Office and administrative support jobs accounted for 14.9% of total employment in Baton Rouge, at an average wage of $15.25 per hour. Nationally, office and administrative jobs account for 16% of total employment, with the average worker earning $17.08 per hour.
In just four of 22 major occupational groups included in the data released today were average per-hour Baton Rouge wages found to be higher than the national average: architecture and engineering ($40.63 locally, compared to $39.19 nationally); farming, fishing and forestry ($16.95, compared to $12.09); production ($24.32, compared to $17.06); and transportation and material moving ($16.64, compared to $16.57).
See the complete report for more hourly wage data on all Baton Rouge area major occupational groups.
—Steve Sanoski
