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Manufacturing Compass

Louisiana manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2023. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Louisiana manufacturing in 2023

Totals and averages for all private manufacturing employers in Louisiana combined. They describe the industry statewide, not any individual plant or company.

Establishments

4,586

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
392,201
Share of U.S.Calc
1.2%

Employment

139,240

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,868,061
Share of U.S.Calc
1.1%

Total wages

$12.3 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1.1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
1.2%

Average weekly wage

$1,702

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,588
vs. U.S.Calc
+7.2%

Average annual pay

$88,513

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$82,575
vs. U.S.Calc
+7.2%

Location quotient

0.87

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Louisiana is 0.87 times its share of all U.S. jobs.

Calcmarks our calculations from BLS figures (formulas below). All other values are published by BLS.

02Subsectors

Where manufacturing jobs are

The 21 three-digit NAICS manufacturing subsectors, largest employment first.

  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    28,222
    Establishments
    428
    Avg. annual pay
    $133,097
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +18.1%
    Location quotient
    2.55
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    18,550
    Establishments
    890
    Avg. annual pay
    $74,205
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +5.9%
    Location quotient
    1.04
  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    16,818
    Establishments
    485
    Avg. annual pay
    $53,915
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −9.1%
    Location quotient
    0.78
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    12,165
    Establishments
    407
    Avg. annual pay
    $80,176
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −4.6%
    Location quotient
    0.87
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    10,718
    Establishments
    103
    Avg. annual pay
    $148,109
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +7.6%
    Location quotient
    8.06
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    8,621
    Establishments
    195
    Avg. annual pay
    $76,763
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −13.3%
    Location quotient
    0.39
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    7,794
    Establishments
    190
    Avg. annual pay
    $64,131
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +6.0%
    Location quotient
    1.50
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    6,305
    Establishments
    56
    Avg. annual pay
    $90,793
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +15.4%
    Location quotient
    1.42
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    5,325
    Establishments
    376
    Avg. annual pay
    $51,877
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −33.3%
    Location quotient
    0.69
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    4,820
    Establishments
    117
    Avg. annual pay
    $78,522
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +18.0%
    Location quotient
    0.53
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    4,531
    Establishments
    266
    Avg. annual pay
    $65,935
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −9.3%
    Location quotient
    0.88
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    3,026
    Establishments
    52
    Avg. annual pay
    $83,791
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.8%
    Location quotient
    0.66
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,764
    Establishments
    98
    Avg. annual pay
    $59,322
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +1.1%
    Location quotient
    0.67
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    2,669
    Establishments
    354
    Avg. annual pay
    $44,744
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −23.9%
    Location quotient
    0.58
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,612
    Establishments
    132
    Avg. annual pay
    $95,308
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −37.5%
    Location quotient
    0.19
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    1,559
    Establishments
    82
    Avg. annual pay
    $78,267
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −3.4%
    Location quotient
    0.30
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    1,189
    Establishments
    200
    Avg. annual pay
    $43,160
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −23.2%
    Location quotient
    0.27
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    793
    Establishments
    88
    Avg. annual pay
    $43,667
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −15.7%
    Location quotient
    0.64
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    432
    Establishments
    16
    Avg. annual pay
    $58,638
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +3.1%
    Location quotient
    0.39
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    271
    Establishments
    45
    Avg. annual pay
    $46,299
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −16.9%
    Location quotient
    0.25
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    56
    Establishments
    7
    Avg. annual pay
    $51,507
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −10.2%
    Location quotient
    0.17

03By year

Louisiana manufacturing, 2022–2025

Wages are in nominal dollars (not adjusted for inflation). BLS cautions that QCEW is not designed as a time series, so treat year-to-year differences as indicative.

Private manufacturing in Louisiana by year, annual averages, nominal dollars
YearEmploymentAvg. annual payvs. U.S.Calc
2022134,378$84,776+6.7%
2023139,240$88,513+7.2%
2024140,580$92,106+7.8%
2025Not disclosedNot disclosed—

04About this data

Source, definitions, and limits

Source
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
File
data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2023 (final BLS data)
Industry
NAICS 2022, sector 31–33 and its three-digit subsectors
Ownership
Private employers only
Geography
Statewide; compared with the U.S. total
Citation
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW).

What these numbers cover

  • Jobs reported to state unemployment insurance programs, about 95% of U.S. wage and salary jobs. Self-employed workers and proprietors are excluded; people with two jobs may be counted twice.
  • Averages describe all employers combined and do not represent any single manufacturer. Where a subsector has few establishments or jobs, its averages can swing widely and are less representative.
  • Not disclosed: BLS withheld the value to protect employer confidentiality. It is never shown as zero. No BLS data: BLS publishes no figures for that combination.

Calculations

  • Share of U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value.
  • vs. U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value − 1.
  • Both inputs come from the same BLS file: same year, industry, and ownership. Not calculated when either value is withheld (shown as —).
  • Location quotient is published by BLS: the industry's share of all local jobs (all industries and ownerships) divided by its share nationally.

Read our methodology