Corridor cities rank among best places for jobs

Two corridor cities — Baton Rouge and Lafayette — rank among the 30 best places in the United States for jobs. Lafayette finished 14th on the Forbes magazine list, while Baton Rouge came in at 27th — up 44 spots from the year before. Two other Louisiana cities also made the Top 30: Houma-Thibodaux finished fourth, while Alexandria was 21st. The report, which was based on employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, was heavily dominated by Texas cities and college towns, areas that have held up well during the current recession. Forbes noted the number of education-related jobs in Baton Rouge was up 21% over the past five years. Odessa, Texas, was named as the best overall city for jobs, while Austin was named the best large city and McAllen, Texas, was ranked as the best medium-sized city. Other Louisiana cities on the list were Shreveport-Bossier City at 33, Lake Charles at 119, New Orleans at 234 and Monroe at 243. To see the full list, click here.