Baton Rouge still adding jobs

The number of non-farm jobs in metro Baton Rouge was up slightly in June compared to the year before, while the rest of the state saw a small drop. There were 375,800 jobs in the Capital Region last month, compared with 375,300 in June 2008, according to figures released today from the Louisiana Workforce Commission. Small boosts in construction and retail trade jobs led to the local increase. On the state level, there were 1.932 million non-farm jobs, compared with 1.947 million in June 2008. While private sector jobs were up by 700 statewide, the overall numbers were down because of a drop in education jobs now that school is out. Baton Rouge was the only metro area in the state to post an increase in jobs. Despite the gains, unemployment in metro Baton Rouge was 7.4% in June, compared with 5% locally a year earlier. The state unemployment rate was 7.8% last month, up from the 5.7% rate it was last year, but below the national average of 9.7%.