Up and up: Though the Baton Rouge metro added 1,800 nonfarm jobs between April and May, the area’s unemployment rate rose to 5.7% in May, up from 5.4% the month previous. The increase in the unemployment rate, despite more jobs, reflects more people looking for work. According to new data released by the Louisiana Workforce Commission Tuesday afternoon, the Baton Rouge area also had 5,900 more jobs in May this year than it did during the same month last year, marking the 53rd consecutive month of year-over-year increases. All nine of Louisiana’s metro areas saw their unemployment rates rise in May. The state’s nonseasonally adjusted unemployment ticked up by 0.3 percentage points over the month to 6.6%. The LWC has more details.
Buyout: Baton Rouge-based Gatorworks, a digital agency providing branding, web and marketing services, is now under sole ownership of its founder and president Brian Rodriguez, who has bought out his long-time business partner Charlie Davis. Rodriguez founded the company in 2005 and brought Davis on shortly after. Davis is also president of Liquid Ventures, a firm specializing in building organizations and companies. Rodriguez says in a news release that for Davis, the move will allow him to fully focus on his consultant role with Baton Rouge-based MasteryPrep, a rapidly expanding school-based testing company. Rodriguez says Gatorworks is seeking to expand its online marketing and search engine optimization business and has hired a business development manager to aid in the growth of those markets.
Here’s the plan: The Louisiana Department of Education has released a plan to create first-of-its kind school accountability incentive and diploma pathway for students with significant disabilities. The proposal was announced Tuesday and comes in the form of a waiver request submitted by the state to federal officials. If approved, it would offer some students ways to earn a diploma rather than leaving high school without a credential or only a skills certificate. The change would apply to students with the most severe cognitive disabilities. Officials say about 3,000 such students attended public high schools in Louisiana during the 2014-15 school year. The proposal would set up a series of requirements for students to qualify for a diploma, one of which includes earning 23 course credits. The Department of Education has more details.
