The number of people working in metro Baton Rouge went up by 7,800 from January 2008 to January 2009, according to figures released today by the U.S. Department of Labor. There were about 374,600 people working in the Capital Region in January, compared with 366,800 in January 2008, according to the department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Despite the additional jobs, the unemployment rate in metro Baton Rouge went up from 4.3% unemployment in January 2008 to 5.4% unemployment in January. That was good enough to put the Capital Region tied for the 39th lowest unemployment rate of any metro area in the United States. Houma-Thibodaux had the lowest unemployment rate in the country in January, at 3.7%. Lafayette (3.9%) and Lake Charles (5%) also had lower unemployment rates than Baton Rouge in January. Detroit had the highest unemployment rate in January, at 13%.
Capital Region adds jobs over year
Sign up for the free Daily Report email – local news about the people, companies and issues that impact business impact business in Baton Rouge and beyond.
