Construction employment in Baton Rouge unchanged in May

The number of people working in the construction industry in metro Baton Rouge was unchanged in May, when compared to a year earlier. There were 37,300 construction jobs in the Capital Region, the same as there were in May 2010, according to figures from the Associated General Contractors of America. Baton Rouge was one of 55 cities that didn’t see any change in employment; 120 cities saw increases in construction jobs. Once again, Shreveport-Bossier City and Houma-Thibodaux ranked among the cities seeing the largest gains in construction employment in the AGC report. Shreveport-Bossier City ranked No. 7 after adding 1,300 jobs from May 2010, a 15% gain that put the city at 9,700 jobs. Houma-Thibodaux ranked seventh after adding 700 jobs, a 13% gain that put the area at 5,900. New Orleans added 500 jobs, a 2% gain that boosted the city to 30,700. Lake Charles lost 300 jobs, a 4% drop, and Lafayette lost 800 jobs, or 12% drop in jobs.