Louisiana Q1, 2019 Employment Statistics- 134,758 employers, up 3.1% from 130,725
- 1,913,853 employees, up 0.5% from 1,904,263
- $954 average weekly wage, up 2.6% from $930
- The average weekly wage is 19.4% below the national average
- The cost of living is 6.4% below the national average
Employer & Employee Growth
In the last year, the number of employers in the state increased by 4,033, which is an increase of 3.1%. The number of employees in Louisiana increased by 9,590, an increase of 0.5%. During this same period, the average weekly wage increased by $24, an increase of 2.6%.
The number of private employers increased since last years' Q1. The number of private businesses increased by 3,994 or 3.2%. Growth in private businesses in Louisiana grew faster than the national average of 3.0%. The number of employees in these businesses increased since last years' Q1, increasing by 9,251 or 0.6%. The growth in employees of private businesses in Louisiana was slower than the national average of 1.7%.
The average weekly wage of employees of private businesses increased since last years' Q1. The averge weekly wage increased by $26 or 2.8%. Growth in average weekly wage of employees of private businesses in Louisiana grew slower than the national average of 3.0%.
Leading Sectors
Businesses by Sector
The sector with the greatest number of businesses in the state is Retail trade with 13.3% of the businesses in the state. The number of businesses in this sector increased by 1.3%. Professional services (12.2%), which increased by 5.2% and Healthcare (10.7%), which increased by 4.4%, round out the 3 largest sectors.
Table: Sectors by Year-over-Year Qtly Business Change %
| Sector | Change Biz | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| Arts and entertainment | 137 | 7.9% |
| Information | 99 | 5.9% |
| Professional services | 812 | 5.2% |
| Company management | 58 | 4.9% |
| Accommodation and food services | 493 | 4.7% |
| Healthcare | 606 | 4.4% |
| Mining and oil extraction | 69 | 4.3% |
| Educational services | 54 | 3.8% |
| Real estate and rental | 193 | 3.6% |
| Transport and warehousing | 150 | 3.5% |
| Utilities | 17 | 3.5% |
| Waste services | 206 | 2.8% |
| Other services | 250 | 2.7% |
| Agriculture and forestry | 31 | 2.2% |
| Construction | 242 | 2.2% |
| Finance and insurance | 150 | 1.8% |
| Wholesale trade | 136 | 1.7% |
| Manufacturing | 66 | 1.5% |
| Retail trade | 225 | 1.3% |
Employees by Sector
The sector with the greatest number of employees in the state is Healthcare with 14.1% of the employees in the state, had an increase in employees of 1.3% in the last year. Retail trade (11.6%), decreased by 1.9% and Accommodation and food services (10.8%), increased by 0.6%, round out the top 3 sectors.Table: Sectors by Year-over-Year Qtly Employee Change %
| Sector | Employee Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| Transport and warehousing | 4,174 | 5.9% |
| Mining and oil extraction | 1,186 | 3.5% |
| Arts and entertainment | 774 | 2.8% |
| Professional services | 2,168 | 2.5% |
| Manufacturing | 3,056 | 2.3% |
| Real estate and rental | 456 | 1.5% |
| Healthcare | 3,458 | 1.3% |
| Other services | 568 | 1.3% |
| Company management | 161 | 0.7% |
| Educational services | 175 | 0.6% |
| Accommodation and food services | 1,126 | 0.6% |
| Agriculture and forestry | 26 | 0.3% |
| Waste services | -163 | -0.2% |
| Wholesale trade | -269 | -0.4% |
| Construction | -1,144 | -0.7% |
| Utilities | -132 | -1.5% |
| Retail trade | -4,285 | -1.9% |
| Finance and insurance | -1,089 | -2.0% |
| Information | -1,005 | -4.2% |
Average Weekly Wage by Sector
The sector that pays their employees the highest is Utilities paying $2,182per week compared with the state average of $965. Weekly wages in this sector rose by $45 or 2.1%. Mining and oil extraction ($2,113), rose by $105 or 5.2% and Company management ($1,917) increased by $62 or 3.3% round out the 3 largest sectors.Table: Sectors by Year-over-Year Weekly Wage Change %
| Sector | Wage Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture and forestry | $52 | 7.1% |
| Information | $64 | 5.5% |
| Mining and oil extraction | $105 | 5.2% |
| Wholesale trade | $49 | 3.8% |
| Waste services | $27 | 3.7% |
| Real estate and rental | $33 | 3.5% |
| Educational services | $26 | 3.3% |
| Company management | $62 | 3.3% |
| Other services | $23 | 3.2% |
| Construction | $34 | 2.8% |
| Healthcare | $22 | 2.8% |
| Professional services | $29 | 2.3% |
| Retail trade | $12 | 2.2% |
| Accommodation and food services | $8 | 2.2% |
| Utilities | $45 | 2.1% |
| Transport and warehousing | $18 | 1.6% |
| Manufacturing | $22 | 1.4% |
| Finance and insurance | $-6 | -0.4% |
| Arts and entertainment | $-27 | -3.9% |
Leading Industries
Businesses by Industry
Each broad sector is made up of specific industries. In Louisiana. the industry with the most businesses is Restaurants and other eating places with 6.1% of the businesses in the state (with 8,265 employing 155,203 workers). The Restaurants and other eating places industry had 343 more businesses, an increase of 4.3% in the last year. Offices of physicians (2.7% of businesses) added 60 businesses, an increase of 1.7% and Offices of lawyers (2.7% of businesses) added 27 businesses, an increase of 0.8% round out the 3 industries with the most businesses.Table: Top 7 Industries by Business Change %
| Industry | Business Chg | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| Trusts estates and agency accounts | 28 | 121.7% |
| All other information services | 27 | 69.2% |
| Emergency and other relief services | 15 | 65.2% |
| Nature parks and other similar institutions | 1 | 50.0% |
| Scenic and sightseeing transportation other | 1 | 50.0% |
| All other animal production | 3 | 42.9% |
| Dance companies | 3 | 37.5% |
Table: Top 7 Industries by Business Change #
| Industry | Business Chg | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and other eating places | 343 | 4.3% |
| Services for the elderly and disabled | 256 | 16.7% |
| Computer systems design and related services | 184 | 9.7% |
| All other professional and technical services | 160 | 25.0% |
| Management consulting services | 124 | 8.3% |
| Gasoline stations with convenience stores | 110 | 4.5% |
| Other technical consulting services | 110 | 10.1% |
Employees by Industry
Offices of physicians (2.7% of employees) added 60 employees, an increase of 1.7% and Offices of lawyers (2.7% ofemployees) added 27 employees, an increase of 0.8% round out the 3 industries with the most employees.Table: Top 7 Industries by Employee Change %
| Industry | Emp Chg | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| Cutlery and handtool manufacturing | 24 | 328.6% |
| Flavoring syrup and concentrate manufacturing | 108 | 240.2% |
| Mobile food services | 112 | 137.1% |
| Emergency and other relief services | 89 | 127.0% |
| Metal can box and other container mfg. | 46 | 120.6% |
| Accessories and other apparel manufacturing | 25 | 97.8% |
| Painting and wall covering contractors | 1,581 | 79.8% |
Table: Top 7 Industries by Employee Change #
| Industry | Emp Chg | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| All other specialty trade contractors | 3,236 | 23.8% |
| Painting and wall covering contractors | 1,581 | 79.8% |
| General medical and surgical hospitals | 1,561 | 2.5% |
| Local messengers and local delivery | 1,486 | 70.9% |
| Petrochemical manufacturing | 1,452 | 35.0% |
| Support activities for mining | 1,331 | 5.1% |
| Services for the elderly and disabled | 1,225 | 5.1% |
Average Weekly Wage by Industry
Offices of physicians ($3) and Offices of lawyers ($3) round out the top 3 industries. Employees in the Offices of physicians ($3 per week) were paid $60 more per week, an increase of 1.7% and Offices of lawyers ($3 per week) were paid $27 more per week, an increase of 0.8% round out the 3 industries that pay their employees the most.Table: Top 7 Industries by Wage Change %
| Industry | Wkly Chg | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken egg production | $517 | 76.6% |
| Political organizations | $399 | 71.4% |
| Health and welfare funds | $522 | 44.0% |
| Outdoor advertising | $730 | 41.9% |
| Fishing | $356 | 40.6% |
| Adhesive manufacturing | $477 | 39.8% |
| Other farm product raw material merch. whls. | $308 | 38.1% |
Table: Top 7 Industries by Wage Change $
| Industry | Wkly Chg | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor advertising | $730 | 41.9% |
| Credit bureaus | $647 | 33.2% |
| Other financial vehicles | $607 | 14.7% |
| Spectator sports | $536 | 17.6% |
| Health and welfare funds | $522 | 44.0% |
| Chicken egg production | $517 | 76.6% |
| Adhesive manufacturing | $477 | 39.8% |
Company Size
Louisiana Businesses by Size
The solopreneur company, has the most businesses in Louisiana by far. 58.1% of all businesses in the state have fewer than 5 employees. The 123,149 small businesses in the state represent 95.5% of all private businesses. The national average is 92.9%. (Small businesses have fewer than 50 employees, Solopreneurs employ fewer than 5.) Louisiana added 3,994 businesses in the last year, an increase of 3.2% as compared to the national average of 3.0%.Small businesses are defined as companies with fewer than 50 employees. These small businesses added 3,971 businesses in the last year, which is an increase of 3.3% as compared to the national average of 3.1%.
Mid-sized businesses are defined as companies with between 50 and 499 employees. These mid-sized businesses added 29 businesses in the last year, which is an increase of 0.5% as compared to the national average of 1.3%.
Large businesses are defined as companies with more than 500 employees. These large businesses declined 6 businesses in the last year, which is a decrease of 3.2% as compared to the national average of 2.1%.
Louisiana Employees by Business Size
Louisiana added 27,753 employees in the last year, an increase of 1.8% as compared to the national average of 5.2%. Small businesses are defined as companies with fewer than 50 employees. These small businesses added 16,840 businesses in the last year, which is an increase of 15.8% as compared to the national average of 4.2%.Mid-sized businesses are defined as companies with between 50 and 499 employees. Mid-sized businesses added 18,135 employees in the last year, which is an increase of 3.0% as compared to the national average of 4.7%.
Large businesses are defined as companies with more than 500 employees. Large businesses lost 7,222 employees in the last year, which is a decrease of 3.4% as compared to the national average of 9.2%.
Louisiana Avg Weekly Wages by Business Size
Louisiana workers in every size business are paid less than the national average. The smallest companies in Louisiana (those with fewer than 5 employees) pay workers 8.4% less than the national average ($927 per week as compared to the national average of $1,005 per week). The largest companies in Louisiana (those with more than 1,000 employees) pay 47.5% workers below the national average ($1,297 per week as compared to the national average of $1,913 per week).Average weekly wages in small businesses added $86 per week in the last year, which is an increase of 2.7% as compared to the national average of 3.1%. Employees of mid-sized businesses added $88 in wages per week in the last year, which is an increase of 2.9% as compared to the national average of 1.3%.
Employees of large businesses lost $118 of weekly wages in the last year, which is a decrease of 4.2% as compared to the national average of 2.1%.
Data Sources
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