Baton Rouge, La. add jobs in June

The number of jobs in metro Baton Rouge was 1,400 more in June when compared with a year earlier. According to the Louisiana Workforce Commission, there were 370,400 non-farm jobs in the Capital Region last month, compared with 369,000 in June 2009. The service sector saw the biggest local growth, adding nearly 3,000 jobs, while the number of construction and manufacturing jobs locally dropped. The state added 9,400 jobs over June 2009. This was the first year-over-year increase in the number of jobs since December 2008. Curt Eyesink, workforce commission executive director, says the gains are impressive since they happened at the same time as the federal moratorium on offshore drilling. Despite the job gains, unemployment increased in Louisiana because of students entering the workforce. The state’s unemployment rate was 8.3%, compared with 8% in June 2009. Baton Rouge also had an unemployment rate of 8.3%, compared with 7.6% in June 2009. The national unemployment rate was 9.6% in June.