As many as roughly 28,000 contract laborers are expected to be needed in the greater Baton Rouge area through next summer, a new semi-annual forecast from the Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance says.
Welders, pipefitters, and instrument and electrical technicians will be the most indemand skilled laborers, according to the forecast, which GBRIA compiles based on surveys with its 60 members in the eight-parish Capital Region.
“The outlook for industrial contract workers remains strong with a significant increase by mid-2016,” GBRIA says.
While about 24,250 contract laborers are needed currently, the forecast shows, that number is set to rise to more than 28,600 by next February before drawing back down to about 28,000 in May 2016.
Other laborers in high demand will be engineers, process technicians, millwrights, scaffold builders, insulators and testing technicians, GBRIA says.
GBRIA’s 60 members represent petrochemical, energy, paper, pharmaceutical, storage terminal and other industrial facilities. The association conducts its semi-annual contract labor forecast every 18 months to help education providers and industry begin recruiting skilled workers.
