New Orleans metro area economic highlights

In the spirit of Mardi Gras, let's look at the economy of the New Orleans metro area. Trade, transportation, and utilities is the largest industry in this metropolitan area, with 116,100 jobs in December 2018. This was a 0.6-percent increase from December 2017. Education and health services provided 103,200 jobs, and leisure and hospitality provided 91,000 jobs. Construction had the largest percent growth over the last 12 months, with a 7.5-percent increase from December 2017.

Before 2014, the New Orleans area had average hourly earnings greater than both the national and state averages. In December 2018, the New Orleans-area average hourly earnings were $25.41, compared with the national average of $27.68 and the Louisiana average of $23.71.

These data are from the Current Employment Statistics (State and Metro Area) program and are not seasonally adjusted. Data for the most recent month are preliminary. To learn more, see "Southwest Information Office - Louisiana." We also have more charts on metropolitan area employment and unemployment.