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Parish Employment and Wages in Louisiana — Fourth Quarter 2024
Employment rose in all seven largest parishes in Louisiana from December 2023 to December 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that Lafayette Parish had the largest over-the-year increase in employment at 1.8 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)
Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in covered employment among the largest parishes in Louisiana, December 2024
Parish
Percent change, December 2024
Lafayette
1.8
East Baton Rouge
1.5
Orleans
1.2
Calcasieu
0.7
Jefferson
0.7
St. Tammany
0.6
Caddo
0.2
Among the seven largest parishes in Louisiana, employment was highest in East Baton Rouge (272,200) in December 2024. Together, the seven largest Louisiana parishes accounted for 56.0 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 369 largest counties comprise 73.3 percent of total covered employment in the United States. (Large counties and parishes are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2023.)
Large parish average weekly wages in the fourth quarter 2024
All seven large Louisiana parishes reported average weekly wage gains over the year. (See chart 2.) East Baton Rouge had the largest gain (+4.5 percent). Over-the-year wage gains among Louisiana’s remaining six large parishes ranged from 3.5 percent to 0.4 percent.
Chart 2. Over-the-year percent change in covered average weekly wages among the largest parishes in Louisiana, fourth quarter 2024
Parish
Percent change, fourth quarter 2024
East Baton Rouge
4.5
Orleans
3.5
Jefferson
3.2
Caddo
2.6
Calcasieu
2.3
Lafayette
1.4
St. Tammany
0.4
Weekly wages in all seven large parishes in Louisiana were below the national average of $1,507. Average weekly wages ranged from $1,347 in East Baton Rouge to $1,163 in Caddo.
Smaller parish average weekly wages in the fourth quarter of 2024
Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 57 small parishes in Louisiana, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2023. (See table 2.) Wage levels in 52 of the 57 smaller parishes were below the national average. Cameron reported the highest average weekly wage ($2,173). Franklin reported the lowest average weekly wage ($775) in the state.
Among all 64 Louisiana parishes, 15 reported average weekly wages of $924 or lower, 24 registered wages from $925 to $1,099, 10 had wages from $1,100 to $1,274, and 15 had average weekly wages of $1,275 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)
Map 1. Average weekly wages by parish in Louisiana, fourth quarter 2024
(U.S. average = $1,507)
Additional statistics and other information
QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 3.
Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.
The County Employment and Wages release for the first quarter 2025 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, September 9, 2025.
QCEW Moves to One Data Release Beginning with Fourth Quarter 2024 Publication
The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) is streamlining its release process. Beginning with the fourth quarter 2024 national release on June 4, QCEW will publish the national County Employment and Wages news release on the same date as the QCEW full data update. Revised news release dates are available online.
Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and the seven largest parishes in Louisiana, fourth quarter 2024
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Percent changes were computed from employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications. (3) Ranking does not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.
Table 2. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and all parishes in Louisiana, fourth quarter 2024
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.
Table 3. Covered establishments, employment, and wages by state, fourth quarter 2024
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (3) Data not included in the national ranking.
Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.
United States Department of Labor
