Ouachita Parish, LA jobs, unemployment and layoffs
Independent page. Not from or affiliated with the State of Louisiana.
Looking for work in Louisiana? See where you stand.
Not sure you match what employers here are hiring for? Get a free read on your fit, the jobs open near you and a plan for the weeks ahead.
Show me jobs near meOuachita Parish economy
3.8%
unemployment, Sep 2026
4.5% the month before
70,764
in the labor force
Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
158,916
people in Ouachita Parish
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
$51,241
median household income
Source: Census ACS
39%
of workers in white-collar occupations
Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS
Ouachita Parish outlook: Steady
Built from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census figures. It describes the area, not any one employer in it.
- Private-sector jobs up 1.0% from 2022 to 2025
- Population down 1.0% from 2020 to 2025
- Unemployment 3.8%, down 0.7 points from a year ago
- Sectors adding the most jobs: construction (+1,371 jobs), health care (+658 jobs)
- Sectors losing the most jobs: information (−673 jobs), admin & staffing (−595 jobs)
Learn and get funded in Ouachita Parish
- Which AI skills each kind of job asks for, with the pay premium.
- Your local workforce board and American Job Centers: training vouchers and re-employment help.
- Grants and funding for job seekers, ranked for your state and situation.
- Unemployment benefits by state, if you are between jobs.
Ouachita Parish layoffs
No layoff notices naming Ouachita Parish in the last 12 months are on file. The WARN Act covers employers with 100 or more workers, so smaller layoffs are not in it.
Employers hiring most in Ouachita Parish
Employers with the most open professional roles in this county’s cities. The county is taken from each job’s city, so roles with no city are not counted.
- M.C. Dean5 open roles
- Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University4 open roles
- ST Catherines Village4 open roles
- Confidential2 open roles
- Energy Innovation2 open roles
- IES Holdings2 open roles
- Drax1 open role
- Empire Petroleum1 open role
- Entergy1 open role
- FlowerHire1 open role
Colleges in Ouachita Parish
| College | City | Type | Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Louisiana at Monroe | Monroe | Public 4-year | 5,000–9,999 |
Workforce development and job centers
The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving Ouachita Parish. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.
Laid off in Louisiana? How to file for unemployment in Louisiana (steps, weekly amount and the appeal deadline).
Ouachita American Job Center
Monroe · Comprehensive · 318-362-3058
M,T,W,Th 8:00am-5:00pm;(Closed 12-12:30 for lunch)Closed to the public at 4:30pm, F 8:00am-3:00 pm (Closed 12pm-1pm for lunch)
Cities in Ouachita Parish
Other Louisiana counties
Laid off or looking for work in Ouachita Parish?
See what to do first and the jobs open near you.
See your options after a layoffSources: Census Bureau and BLS (county unemployment is not seasonally adjusted); layoff notices from Louisiana’s published record; job counts from our live job board; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers. Louisiana unemployment benefits and severance rules.
Applying and hearing nothing back?
Find out where you stand: your odds, the jobs that fit you and a plan for the week ahead. Free. No résumé needed.
Already a member? Log in
Job seekers in Ouachita Parish looking to you for help, or openings you cannot fill?
Leave your work email. We'll send how organizations use NextChapter to reach job seekers in Ouachita Parish.