Revised federal data: State job growth last year actually 10K, not nearly 40K

Job growth in Louisiana last year was much lower than initially reported as revised federal data cut the state’s job growth by about 75%.

The state actually gained only 9,900 jobs in 2023, well below the 39,366 jobs initial data revealed earlier this year, according to data compiled by Gary Wagner, Acadiana Business Economist with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, in his quarterly Louisiana Economic Activity Forecast.

The more accurate data showed a much weaker job growth and projects a job growth that will be flat over the next 12 months. Unemployment is also expected to increase in the each of the next four quarters.

In that revised data, only four of the state’s nine metro regions had job growth, data shows.