Some Acadiana Industries Are Already Well Past Pre-COVID Job Numbers

In the two years since the COVID-19 pandemic forced Lafayette’s employment rates to plummet, the Acadiana area has seen historic job growth rates — though it is still far below the pre-pandemic levels.

In February 2020, just before COVID-19 would begin its run through Louisiana, the Lafayette Metropolitan Statistical Area had 204,500 total workers. Employment dropped slightly in March 2020 — less than 1% — which saw the first cases of the virus in the state, before dropping another 10.7% in April to hit the lowest mark since January 2000.

During the Great Recession around 2008 and the recession in the early 2000s, the Lafayette area never dropped below 190,000 workers. But in April 2020, the metro area had 181,400.

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