Local economy shifting toward service industries

• Advocate staff report
• Published: Dec 30, 2005

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Though the region's employment picture changes from month to month, the Baton Rouge economy is continuing a gradual shift away from a manufacturing and goods-producing job base towards service-oriented industries.

High oil and natural gas prices, which have been particularly hard on Louisiana's petrochemical industry, are partly to blame.

Petrochemical jobs have fallen 20 percent in Louisiana from 2000 to 2004.

"It has a larger impact on our state because we have so many industries and jobs connected with the natural gas industry," energy specialist Dane Revette of the state's Department of Economic Development said in a recent interview.

That has added pressure on the manufacturing industry, which is already sending divisions overseas in what is a national trend.

Since 2000, about 8,500 U.S. industrial facilities have been closed or emptied, amounting to 3 million U.S. jobs lost, according to a real estate study by Pollina Corporate Real Estate.

What's taking their place? Service jobs -- in education, healthcare and food service sectors are growing.

While the state's goods-producing sector lost 1,300 non-farm jobs -- down to 314,600 from 315,900 -- its service sectors added 7,100 jobs in 12 months, up from 1,612,500 in April 2004 to 1,619,600 this year, the latest labor figures show.

According to the state Department of Labor, retail salespersons, cashiers, food preparation, fast-food workers, and waiters are at the top of that list -- followed closely by general operations managers, electricians, telemarketers, registered nurses, house maids and janitors.

For the nine-parish Baton Rouge area, the goods-producing sector bled 2,400 jobs to 59,800 for the 12-month period through April, while the service-producing sector held steady at 284,600 jobs as some sub sectors produced gains that made up for losses in others.

The nine-parish region includes parishes of Ascension, East and West Baton Rouge, East and West Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee and St. Helena.

The loss in the area's goods-producing sector was attributed primarily to 2,200 fewer construction jobs, a sector dependent in large part on expansion and maintenance work at local plants that have suffered through the nation's economic downturn and high energy prices.

Among the Baton Rouge area's service-producing sectors, gains were posted in trade, transportation and utilities, 600 jobs; finance, 900 jobs; educational and health services, 700 jobs; leisure and hospitality, 200 jobs; and other services, 600 jobs. Service sector losses came in information, 400 jobs; professional and business services, 1,200 jobs; and government, 1,400 jobs.