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Parish Employment and Wages in Louisiana— First Quarter 2026
Employment declined in 4 of the 7 largest parishes in Louisiana from March 2025 to March 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Louisiana employment decreased 0.5 percent over the year to 1,917,200 in March 2026, as measured by the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program. (See table 1.) Regional Commissioner James B. Howard, Jr., noted that Orleans Parish (-1.1 percent) had the largest over-the-year decrease in employment. (See chart 1.)
Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in covered employment among the largest parishes in Louisiana, March 2026
County
Percent change, March 2026
Orleans
-1.1
Lafayette
-1.0
Caddo
-0.7
Calcasieu
-0.1
Jefferson
0.1
East Baton Rouge
0.4
St. Tammany
0.8
East Baton Rouge Parish (270,100) had the highest employment level in Louisiana in March 2026. Together, the seven largest parishes accounted for 55.9 percent of total covered employment within the state. Nationwide, the 376 largest counties and county equivalents (including parishes) comprise 73.5 percent of total covered employment in the United States. (Large counties and county equivalents are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2025.)
Large parish average weekly wages in the first quarter 2026
Average weekly wage gains in 4 of the 7 large parishes in Louisiana were below the national average of 3.9 percent. (See chart 2.) St. Tammany had the largest gain (+23.4 percent). Over-the-year wage gains among the other six large Louisiana parishes ranged from 4.2 percent to 1.1 percent.
Chart 2. Over-the-year percent change in covered average weekly wages among the largest parishes in Louisiana, first quarter 2026
County
Percent change, first quarter 2026
St. Tammany
23.4
Orleans
4.2
Jefferson
4.1
Caddo
3.7
East Baton Rouge
2.2
Lafayette
2.0
Calcasieu
1.1
Weekly wages in all seven large parishes in Louisiana were below the national average of $1,654. Average weekly wages ranged from $1,478 in St. Tammany to $1,160 in Lafayette.
Statewide, average weekly wages increased 4.0 percent over the year to $1,274. Louisiana ranked 42nd in average weekly wages among the 50 states and the District of Columbia and 17th in wage growth.
Smaller parish average weekly wages in the first quarter of 2026
Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 57 smaller parishes in Louisiana, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2025. (See table 2.) Wage levels in 53 of the 57 smaller parishes were below the national average. Cameron reported the highest average weekly wage ($3,026) in the state. Madison reported the lowest average weekly wage ($753).
Among all 64 Louisiana parishes, 7 reported average weekly wages of $849 and lower, 20 had wages from $850 to $999, 13 had wages from $1,000 to $1,149, 10 had wages from $1,150 to $1,299, and 14 had average weekly wages of $1,300 and higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)
Map 1. Average weekly wages by parish in Louisiana, first quarter 2026
(U.S. average = $1,654)
Additional statistics and other information
QCEW data for all states have been included in this release in table 3.
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The County Employment and Wages release for the second quarter 2026 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, December 2, 2026.
County Changes for the 2026 County Employment and Wages News Releases
Counties with annual average employment of 75,000 or more in 2025 are included in this release and will be included in future 2026 releases. Five counties have been added to the publication tables: Kenton, KY; Union, NC; Licking, OH; Gregg, TX; and Kenosha, WI. One county has been dropped from the publication tables: Wood, OH.
Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and the seven largest parishes in Louisiana, first quarter 2026
(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, first quarter 2026
(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, first quarter 2026
(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
