Four Louisiana cities, including Baton Rouge and Lafayette, ranked among the 30 best places in the United States for jobs. Houma-Thibodaux finished fourth on the Forbes magazine list, while Lafayette was 14th, Alexandria was 21st and Baton Rouge finished 27th, up 44 spots from the year before. 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 33rd, Lake Charles at 119th, New Orleans at 234 and Monroe at 243. To see the full list, click here.
