Employment Indicators Dashboard
Total Regional Employment (2023)
293,099
Average Earnings Per Job (2023)
$62.1K
Unemployment and Labor Force Participation Rates
Acadiana Region
2020
7.9%
57.3%
2021
5.2%
57.8%
2022
3.5%
58.2%
2023
3.5%
58.5%
2024
4.2%
58.4%
February 2025
4%
57.5%
March 2025
4.2%
58.4%
April 2025
3.8%
58.4%
May 2025
4.4%
58.5%
Source: Lightcast
Occupation Characteristics and Concentration
Acadiana Region
Profession | 2024 Jobs | 2024 Median Salary | 2024 Average Hourly Wage | 2024 LQ (Occupation Concentration) | 2019-2024 % Change in Jobs | 10 Year Growth Forecast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales and Related | 49,392 | $33,664 | $29.56 | 1.06 | 10.94% | 4,936 |
| Office and Administrative Support | 40,404 | $35,743 | $19.59 | 0.99 | 0.84% | 1,870 |
| Management | 37,218 | $65,500 | $43.17 | 0.99 | 31.54% | 4,477 |
| Transportation and Material Moving | 32,492 | $35,792 | $22.44 | 1.01 | 3.97% | 2,277 |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related | 26,685 | $23,027 | $12.9 | 1.03 | 3.07% | 1,440 |
| Construction and Extraction | 24,268 | $44,418 | $24.44 | 1.4 | 11.43% | 1,516 |
| Healthcare Practitioners and Technical | 22,334 | $66,236 | $43.74 | 1.12 | 6.42% | 2,134 |
| Business and Financial Operations | 21,127 | $66,516 | $48.79 | 0.65 | 32.24% | 3,660 |
| Production | 20,071 | $41,903 | $22.97 | 1.13 | 1.75% | 1,823 |
| Healthcare Support | 19,204 | $26,242 | $14.52 | 1.17 | 9.34% | 2,237 |
| Installation, Maintenance, and Repair | 18,558 | $45,534 | $24.66 | 1.31 | 7.98% | 1,374 |
| Personal Care and Service | 17,235 | $24,949 | $17.17 | 1.26 | 3.67% | 2,575 |
| Educational Instruction and Library | 16,678 | $49,601 | $25.72 | 0.87 | -11.74% | 1,053 |
| Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance | 14,572 | $28,094 | $18.02 | 1.08 | 1.75% | 1,619 |
| Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media | 10,030 | $39,293 | $31.08 | 0.81 | 11.75% | 1,415 |
| Protective Service | 6,254 | $42,628 | $22.61 | 0.87 | 8.49% | 136 |
| Community and Social Service | 5,678 | $48,137 | $26.5 | 0.9 | 6.73% | 680 |
| Architecture and Engineering | 4,419 | $76,228 | $44.68 | 0.81 | -0.76% | 386 |
| Computer and Mathematical | 3,958 | $74,369 | $40.93 | 0.36 | 28.75% | 765 |
| Farming, Fishing, and Forestry | 3,442 | $32,177 | $23.23 | 1.33 | -7.09% | 267 |
| Legal | 2,639 | $77,111 | $53.24 | 0.84 | 10.89% | 119 |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science | 2,591 | $69,737 | $48.03 | 0.68 | 9.98% | 308 |
| Military-only | 1,251 | $40,328 | $22.98 | 0.74 | -7.5% | 2 |
Source: Lightcast
Industry Characteristics and Concentration
Acadiana Region
Industry | 2024 Jobs | 2024 Average Earnings Per Worker | 2024 LQ (Industry Concentration) | 2019-2024 % Change in Jobs | 2024 GRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 53,096 | $56,699 | 1.15 | 8.87% | 3406.92M |
| Retail Trade | 43,439 | $38,793 | 1.22 | 6.27% | 3255.14M |
| Government | 40,605 | $64,478 | 0.89 | -3.46% | 2950.98M |
| Accommodation and Food Services | 28,713 | $22,758 | 1.03 | 6.75% | 1011.62M |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 25,518 | $28,706 | 1.14 | 8.99% | 846.64M |
| Construction | 25,100 | $60,969 | 1.12 | 21.45% | 2050.66M |
| Manufacturing | 24,604 | $81,206 | 1 | 2.37% | 3664.04M |
| Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 23,536 | $58,909 | 1.01 | 34.43% | 2963.28M |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 21,928 | $68,281 | 0.73 | 9.84% | 1944.94M |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 21,491 | $39,107 | 0.93 | 15.46% | 1100.54M |
| Finance and Insurance | 18,850 | $66,740 | 0.75 | 32.26% | 1907.22M |
| Transportation and Warehousing | 17,685 | $63,739 | 0.79 | 17.96% | 2096.69M |
| Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction | 16,325 | $102,719 | 8.37 | -16.82% | 3826.92M |
| Wholesale Trade | 11,523 | $81,316 | 0.92 | 3.84% | 2065.44M |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting | 9,707 | $33,569 | 1.47 | 3.42% | 561.26M |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation | 6,380 | $19,771 | 0.74 | 2.67% | 190.08M |
| Educational Services | 5,306 | $32,937 | 0.55 | 10.65% | 185.58M |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 3,925 | $81,421 | 0.7 | -4.35% | 387.36M |
| Information | 3,102 | $63,051 | 0.44 | -10.61% | 558.4M |
| Utilities | 1,044 | $105,857 | 0.9 | 14.39% | 407.58M |
Source: Lightcast
Annual Wage Ranges by Occupation (25th-75th Percentile)
Acadiana Region
Legal
$47,465
$139,059
Management
$33,538
$113,451
Life, Physical, and Social Science
$50,161
$109,159
Business and Financial Operations
$43,758
$108,871
Architecture and Engineering
$55,437
$107,202
Computer and Mathematical
$50,391
$103,709
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
$49,391
$92,424
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
$21,355
$69,661
Community and Social Service
$34,205
$63,500
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair
$32,341
$63,397
Construction and Extraction
$32,295
$60,726
Sales and Related
$22,701
$60,724
Military-only
$26,064
$59,540
Educational Instruction and Library
$39,794
$58,453
Production
$31,228
$57,138
Protective Service
$32,397
$54,626
Transportation and Material Moving
$28,080
$50,675
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry
$20,331
$47,281
Office and Administrative Support
$28,266
$46,480
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
$21,144
$38,846
Personal Care and Service
$17,689
$37,858
Healthcare Support
$19,730
$32,046
Food Preparation and Serving Related
$18,704
$30,045
Source: Lightcast
Job Postings 5-Year Trend
Acadiana Region
Source: Lightcast
Job Postings by Industry
Acadiana Region
Industry Sector (2-Digit) | Latest 30 Days Unique Postings | Latest 30 Days Unique Postings % Change |
|---|---|---|
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 2,539 | 13.5% |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 1,780 | 16.9% |
| Retail Trade | 1,491 | 2.3% |
| Accommodation and Food Services | 939 | 7.6% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 759 | 14.1% |
| Manufacturing | 453 | 9.1% |
| Educational Services | 403 | 11.9% |
| Finance and Insurance | 396 | 14.6% |
| Construction | 291 | 5.8% |
| Wholesale Trade | 290 | 2.1% |
| Public Administration | 232 | 23.7% |
| Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 231 | 2.6% |
| Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction | 214 | 1.4% |
| Transportation and Warehousing | 200 | -19.5% |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 183 | 24.6% |
| Information | 88 | 5.7% |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation | 79 | 7.6% |
| Utilities | 75 | -73.3% |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 41 | 0% |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting | 6 | 33.3% |
Source: Lightcast
Job Postings by Top 20 Companies Currently Hiring
Acadiana Region
Company | Latest 30 Days Unique Postings | Latest 30 Days Unique Postings % Change |
|---|---|---|
| Ochsner Health | 789 | 18.8% |
| Walmart | 212 | -4.2% |
| Brookshire Grocery Company | 191 | 12.6% |
| Lafayette Economic Development Authority | 185 | -4.3% |
| Lafayette Parish School System | 139 | 11.5% |
| Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System | 116 | 4.3% |
| State of Louisiana | 98 | 30.6% |
| Charter Schools USA | 84 | 31% |
| Taco Bell | 83 | 21.7% |
| Domino's Pizza | 82 | 12.2% |
| LHC Group | 81 | 9.9% |
| Halliburton | 72 | -4.2% |
| Iberia Medical Center | 64 | 1.6% |
| Headway | 63 | 27% |
| Acadian Companies | 61 | 6.6% |
| CGI Deutschland | 60 | 15% |
| AutoZone | 56 | 25% |
| Pizza Hut | 55 | |
| Sonic Drive-In | 55 | 1.8% |
| Family Dollar | 53 | -7.5% |
Source: Lightcast. Lafayette Economic Development Authority job openings listed reflect their Job Board, not jobs for the Lafayette Economic Development Authority itself.
Job Postings vs. Hires by Occupation
Acadiana Region Trailing 12-Months (click column headers to sort data)
Occupation | Total Postings | Total Hires | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Practitioners and Technical | 19,360 | 20,345 | -985 |
| Sales and Related | 11,141 | 21,513 | -10,372 |
| Office and Administrative Support | 7,069 | 20,105 | -13,036 |
| Management | 7,023 | 7,011 | 12 |
| Transportation and Material Moving | 6,176 | 18,438 | -12,262 |
| Installation, Maintenance, and Repair | 5,286 | 7,541 | -2,255 |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related | 4,978 | 35,864 | -30,886 |
| Business and Financial Operations | 3,731 | 5,502 | -1,771 |
| Healthcare Support | 3,626 | 16,756 | -13,130 |
| Production | 3,300 | 11,240 | -7,940 |
| Educational Instruction and Library | 2,966 | 5,292 | -2,326 |
| Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance | 2,327 | 6,066 | -3,739 |
| Computer and Mathematical | 2,107 | 1,480 | 627 |
| Construction and Extraction | 2,098 | 11,193 | -9,095 |
| Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media | 1,858 | 1,449 | 409 |
| Community and Social Service | 1,561 | 2,833 | -1,272 |
| Architecture and Engineering | 1,540 | 1,393 | 147 |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science | 1,097 | 976 | 121 |
| Protective Service | 1,036 | 2,556 | -1,520 |
Top 20 Skills in Demand by Frequency in Job Postings
Acadiana Region
Skill | Latest 30 Days Unique Postings | Latest 30 Days Unique Postings % Change |
|---|---|---|
| Nursing | 1,403 | 21.2% |
| Occupational Safety And Health | 813 | 14.8% |
| Medical Privacy | 809 | 14.5% |
| Communicable Diseases | 768 | 19.5% |
| Merchandising | 766 | -3.7% |
| Restaurant Operation | 628 | 2.4% |
| Auditing | 528 | 5.3% |
| Selling Techniques | 518 | 4.1% |
| Food Safety And Sanitation | 517 | 3.3% |
| Cash Register | 489 | 2% |
| Safety Procedures | 472 | 12.7% |
| Marketing | 471 | 9.3% |
| Data Entry | 456 | 8.6% |
| Process Improvement | 419 | 33.9% |
| Warehousing | 416 | 12.3% |
| Medical Records | 415 | 9.9% |
| Nursing Process | 401 | 30.2% |
| Inventory Management | 391 | 0% |
| Housekeeping | 390 | -0.5% |
| Billing | 372 | -2.4% |
Source: Lightcast
Job Postings by Experience Level
Acadiana Region
Source: Lightcast