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%
January 2025
4.2%
57.3%
February 2025
4%
57.5%
March 2025
4.2%
58.4%
April 2025
3.8%
58.4%
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 | 49,359 | $33,635 | $29.54 | 1.06 | 10.89% | 4,996 |
| Office and Administrative Support | 40,251 | $35,707 | $19.52 | 0.98 | 0.47% | 1,842 |
| Management | 37,139 | $65,565 | $43.27 | 0.99 | 31.3% | 4,465 |
| Transportation and Material Moving | 32,551 | $35,886 | $22.57 | 1.01 | 4.18% | 2,309 |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related | 26,540 | $23,036 | $12.89 | 1.03 | 2.48% | 1,374 |
| Construction and Extraction | 24,306 | $44,364 | $24.44 | 1.41 | 11.59% | 1,414 |
| Healthcare Practitioners and Technical | 22,173 | $66,331 | $43.93 | 1.12 | 5.63% | 2,164 |
| Business and Financial Operations | 21,089 | $66,411 | $48.76 | 0.65 | 32.03% | 3,647 |
| Production | 20,096 | $41,901 | $22.94 | 1.13 | 2.07% | 1,781 |
| Healthcare Support | 18,916 | $26,360 | $14.64 | 1.17 | 7.72% | 2,272 |
| Installation, Maintenance, and Repair | 18,506 | $45,557 | $24.68 | 1.31 | 7.65% | 1,335 |
| Personal Care and Service | 17,147 | $25,151 | $17.39 | 1.26 | 3.16% | 2,548 |
| Educational Instruction and Library | 16,564 | $49,471 | $25.63 | 0.86 | -12.5% | 1,215 |
| Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance | 14,534 | $27,351 | $16.88 | 1.08 | 1.5% | 1,547 |
| Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media | 10,005 | $39,157 | $30.85 | 0.81 | 11.42% | 1,428 |
| Protective Service | 6,193 | $42,588 | $22.57 | 0.87 | 7.33% | 145 |
| Community and Social Service | 5,623 | $48,200 | $26.55 | 0.9 | 6.12% | 703 |
| Architecture and Engineering | 4,439 | $76,507 | $44.97 | 0.82 | -0.3% | 387 |
| Computer and Mathematical | 3,943 | $74,254 | $40.69 | 0.36 | 25.96% | 864 |
| Farming, Fishing, and Forestry | 3,435 | $32,595 | $23.64 | 1.33 | -7.11% | 253 |
| Legal | 2,607 | $76,990 | $53.17 | 0.83 | 9.64% | 151 |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science | 2,575 | $69,711 | $47.86 | 0.68 | 10.34% | 315 |
| Military-only | 1,253 | $40,328 | $22.98 | 0.74 | -7.32% | 4 |
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 | 52,712 | $57,094 | 1.15 | 8.08% | 3407.72M |
| Retail Trade | 43,519 | $38,570 | 1.23 | 6.46% | 3254.29M |
| Government | 40,320 | $64,048 | 0.89 | -4.14% | 2917.62M |
| Accommodation and Food Services | 28,700 | $22,829 | 1.03 | 6.7% | 1017.63M |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 25,381 | $29,244 | 1.14 | 8.4% | 855.94M |
| Construction | 24,985 | $60,600 | 1.12 | 20.89% | 2010.14M |
| Manufacturing | 24,801 | $80,996 | 1.01 | 3.19% | 3664.27M |
| Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 23,489 | $58,643 | 1.01 | 34.16% | 2993.8M |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 21,711 | $67,031 | 0.73 | 8.76% | 1897.98M |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 21,396 | $37,520 | 0.93 | 14.96% | 1061.81M |
| Finance and Insurance | 18,834 | $66,405 | 0.75 | 32.18% | 1898.21M |
| Transportation and Warehousing | 17,694 | $64,072 | 0.79 | 18.02% | 2069.67M |
| Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction | 16,318 | $101,154 | 8.37 | -16.85% | 3911.05M |
| Wholesale Trade | 11,512 | $80,706 | 0.92 | 3.74% | 2078.37M |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting | 9,693 | $34,964 | 1.47 | 3.31% | 599.44M |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation | 6,318 | $19,776 | 0.74 | 1.68% | 187.38M |
| Educational Services | 5,250 | $33,117 | 0.55 | 9.62% | 184.9M |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 3,881 | $80,101 | 0.69 | -5.42% | 376.85M |
| Information | 3,117 | $61,381 | 0.44 | -10.18% | 542.19M |
| Utilities | 987 | $103,277 | 0.85 | 8.14% | 378.74M |
Source: Lightcast
Annual Wage Ranges by Occupation (25th-75th Percentile)
Acadiana Region
Legal
$47,372
$138,816
Management
$33,692
$113,505
Business and Financial Operations
$43,639
$108,777
Life, Physical, and Social Science
$50,149
$108,668
Architecture and Engineering
$55,800
$107,493
Computer and Mathematical
$50,068
$103,882
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
$49,452
$92,918
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
$21,156
$69,262
Community and Social Service
$34,209
$63,572
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair
$32,378
$63,452
Construction and Extraction
$32,264
$60,739
Sales and Related
$22,745
$60,674
Military-only
$26,062
$59,540
Educational Instruction and Library
$39,711
$58,162
Production
$31,265
$57,066
Protective Service
$32,350
$54,566
Transportation and Material Moving
$28,150
$50,704
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry
$20,730
$48,368
Office and Administrative Support
$28,226
$46,414
Personal Care and Service
$17,868
$38,339
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
$20,700
$37,187
Healthcare Support
$19,653
$32,186
Food Preparation and Serving Related
$18,702
$30,049
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 | 2,136 | 6.2% |
| Retail Trade | 1,506 | 10.2% |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 1,437 | 6.7% |
| Accommodation and Food Services | 861 | -6.9% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 575 | 13.7% |
| Manufacturing | 380 | -8.7% |
| Educational Services | 368 | 15.8% |
| Finance and Insurance | 341 | -5.9% |
| Wholesale Trade | 288 | -10.8% |
| Construction | 250 | 8.8% |
| Transportation and Warehousing | 234 | 0.4% |
| Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 216 | -5.1% |
| Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction | 193 | 3.1% |
| Public Administration | 158 | 2.5% |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 135 | 2.2% |
| Utilities | 127 | -18.1% |
| Information | 81 | -17.3% |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation | 67 | -4.5% |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 36 | 27.8% |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting | 3 | -100% |
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 | 596 | 12.1% |
| Walmart | 232 | 40.9% |
| Lafayette Economic Development Authority | 164 | 4.9% |
| Brookshire Grocery Company | 158 | 22.8% |
| Lafayette Parish School System | 124 | 14.5% |
| Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System | 110 | -8.2% |
| LHC Group | 71 | -11.3% |
| Iberia Medical Center | 70 | -12.9% |
| Domino's Pizza | 67 | -77.6% |
| Taco Bell | 66 | 42.4% |
| Charter Schools USA | 65 | -16.9% |
| Halliburton | 63 | 31.7% |
| Entergy | 62 | -61.3% |
| Positive Behavior Supports Corp. | 62 | |
| Headway | 56 | 3.6% |
| Sonic Drive-In | 55 | 20% |
| Acadian Companies | 54 | 7.4% |
| Family Dollar | 54 | 63% |
| State of Louisiana | 50 | -28% |
| Circle K | 48 | 10.4% |
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 | 18,056 | 21,335 | -3,279 |
| Sales and Related | 10,690 | 22,008 | -11,318 |
| Office and Administrative Support | 6,689 | 20,357 | -13,668 |
| Management | 6,512 | 7,041 | -529 |
| Transportation and Material Moving | 5,894 | 18,906 | -13,012 |
| Installation, Maintenance, and Repair | 4,975 | 7,522 | -2,547 |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related | 4,743 | 36,358 | -31,615 |
| Business and Financial Operations | 3,513 | 5,488 | -1,975 |
| Healthcare Support | 3,395 | 16,774 | -13,379 |
| Production | 3,125 | 11,465 | -8,340 |
| Educational Instruction and Library | 2,814 | 5,231 | -2,417 |
| Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance | 2,225 | 6,057 | -3,832 |
| Construction and Extraction | 1,983 | 11,329 | -9,346 |
| Computer and Mathematical | 1,855 | 1,478 | 377 |
| Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media | 1,742 | 1,464 | 278 |
| Community and Social Service | 1,532 | 2,826 | -1,294 |
| Architecture and Engineering | 1,500 | 1,436 | 64 |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science | 1,026 | 965 | 61 |
| Protective Service | 992 | 2,549 | -1,557 |
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 | 1,112 | 4.9% |
| Merchandising | 825 | 2.8% |
| Medical Privacy | 652 | 10.4% |
| Occupational Safety And Health | 647 | 11.1% |
| Restaurant Operation | 625 | 13% |
| Communicable Diseases | 585 | 13.7% |
| Food Safety And Sanitation | 505 | 12.3% |
| Selling Techniques | 496 | -2.2% |
| Auditing | 493 | 12.4% |
| Cash Register | 483 | -1.9% |
| Marketing | 428 | -8.6% |
| Safety Procedures | 401 | 12.7% |
| Data Entry | 400 | 4.8% |
| Medical Records | 388 | -0.3% |
| Inventory Management | 384 | -3.6% |
| Cash Handling | 377 | -1.9% |
| Housekeeping | 377 | -3.7% |
| Billing | 364 | 12.9% |
| Project Management | 359 | -3.6% |
| Warehousing | 353 | 11.6% |
Source: Lightcast
Job Postings by Experience Level
Acadiana Region
Source: Lightcast