A new report analyzing economic conditions in the nation’s 3,069 counties and parishes says East Baton Rouge Parish is among 93% of municipalities that have yet to see a full recovery to pre-recession performance.
The report is the third annual from the National Association of Counties, and it says East Baton Rouge Parish has seen two of the four economic indicators it tracks—unemployment rate, job growth rate, GDP and average home price growth—recover to pre-recession levels as of the end of 2015. The report says job growth rates and GDP are now above pre-recession levels here, while average home price growth and the unemployment rate still lag.
While East Baton Rouge may still be seeing figures at below pre-recession levels, the report shows 2015 was still a positive year here economically. In 2015, the report says, the unemployment rate in East Baton Rouge fell 0.3 points to 5.5%, while jobs grew at a 2.7% rate, GDP increased 1.1% and median home prices grew by 3.2%.
While the economy of 214 counties across the U.S.—none of which are in Louisiana—have fully recovered to pre-recession levels across all four measurements in the study, another 2,853 are still underperforming on at least one of the measurements. And almost 16% of all counties, mostly in the South and Midwest, have yet to see any of the indicators return to pre-recession levels.
Still, the report says 2015 was a positive year economically, with nearly three times as many counties and parishes returning to pre-recession economies than did in 2014.
“The data reveals that the economic recovery accelerated in 2015, especially on unemployment rates and home prices. A number of large county economies made significant strides, fully recovering across all four indicators for the first time,” the report concludes. “Growth continued in 2015. Yet, most county economies still have not recovered to their pre-recession levels on jobs and unemployment, and economic output growth was less pronounced. Since 2009, the recovery has created an uneven geography of opportunity, with some county economies witnessing rising wages and productivity, while others saw wages failing to keep pace with productivity gains.”
—Steve Sanoski
