The local economy of Louisiana and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data.
Unemployment rate
4.2%
August 2026, 4.2% a year ago
Average weekly pay
$1,274
Q1 2026, 1,917,226 jobs
New homes permitted
14,034
Last 12 months to August 2026
Net people moving in
-17,408
2022 to 2023
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for its history.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for Louisiana, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for Louisiana is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row.
The unemployment rate in Louisiana was 4.2% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 4.2% a year earlier. 2,019,252 people were employed out of a labor force of 2,107,450. Among its counties, West Feliciana Parish had the lowest rate (2.6%) and East Carroll Parish the highest (10.0%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in Louisiana was $1,274 in Q1 2026, up 4.0% from a year earlier, across 1,917,226 jobs at 159,569 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 1,153 new homes in Louisiana in August 2026 (1,005 single-family and 95 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 9,491, down 4.4% from the same months last year, and 14,034 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in East Baton Rouge Parish (2,427), Lafayette Parish (1,495), Tangipahoa Parish (1,217) over the last 12 months.
No, more people moved out than in. From 2022 to 2023, 67,124 people moved to Louisiana and 84,532 moved away, a net loss of 17,408 (-5.3 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from Texas, Mississippi, Florida, and most people who left went to Texas, Mississippi, Florida.
The weekly survey does not publish a separate price for Louisiana. In its region, Gulf Coast, regular gasoline averaged $3.92 per gallon in the week of September 28, 2026.