Endless growth: Nonfarm employment in the Baton Rouge Area reached an all-time high of more than 400,000 in April, topping the list of metro area nonfarm jobs in the state, according to the Baton Rouge Area Chamber. The total number of nonfarm jobs increased by 7,700 to a total of 400,400 in the Capital Region. The job gains represent a wide spectrum of industries, including an increase of 3,600 in area construction jobs and 2,400 in professional and business services. The jobs gains are indicative of both regional growth as well as diversification of the regional economy, according to a BRAC newsletter. The Capital Region’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.5% in April, according to the Louisiana Workforce Commission.
Moving on up: Capital One announced today it has appointed Chris Haskew to lead its middle market commercial banking business in Louisiana. He will be responsible for a team of Capital One commercial bankers and administrators serving corporate and middle market companies headquartered in the state. Haskew, a 23-year banking veteran with Capital One and its predecessor banks in Louisiana, most recently served as regional manager for the bank’s North Louisiana Commercial Banking division. Haskew will relocate to Baton Rouge later this summer. “I’m pleased to lead Capital One’s Middle Market Commercial Banking efforts in Louisiana,” Haskew says in a prepared statement. “I look forward to fostering the great customer relationships our team has developed and expanding upon this work to provide financial solutions to more middle market companies across the region.” A native of Chattanooga, Tennessee, Haskew received a bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting from LSU.
Big bets: The $150 billion windfall from a plunge in gasoline costs has failed to unleash a surge in U.S. household purchases, prompting economists to slash forecasts for economic growth. But as Bloomberg reports, investors, sensing the bang is coming, placed an early bet on the consumer and it’s paying off. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Consumer Discretionary Sector Index has risen about 6% since the start of this year, handily beating the broader S&P 500’s 1% gain, even as consumption missed analyst projections. Economists, though, look at the picture as a glass half empty rather than half full. That’s because the American consumer, whose spending accounts for almost 70% of the economy, has been mostly missing from the scene: Spending and retail sales stalled in April, after purchases cooled in a major way last quarter. Bloomberg has more.
