Rapides Parish, LA jobs, unemployment and layoffs

Rapides Parish’s unemployment rate is 3.6%. No layoff notices here in the last 12 months. 50 open professional jobs are in its cities.

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Rapides Parish economy

3.6%
unemployment, Sep 2026
4.0% the month before
55,850
in the labor force
Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
128,470
people in Rapides Parish
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
$55,946
median household income
Source: Census ACS
34%
of workers in white-collar occupations
Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

Rapides 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 0.8% from 2022 to 2025
Population down 2.9% from 2020 to 2025
Unemployment 3.6%, down 0.4 points from a year ago
Sectors adding the most jobs: health care (+585 jobs), construction (+304 jobs)

Learn and get funded in Rapides 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.

Rapides Parish layoffs

No layoff notices naming Rapides 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.

All layoff notices in the state

Employers hiring most in Rapides 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.

CHRISTUS Health10 open roles
Cleco Power5 open roles
Crest Industries2 open roles
Employbridge2 open roles
Encompass Health2 open roles
EquipmentShare.com2 open roles
Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers2 open roles
i4 Search Group2 open roles
Strickland Brothers2 open roles
Veterans Health Administration2 open roles

Colleges in Rapides Parish

Colleges in Rapides Parish
College	City	Type	Students
Louisiana State University-Alexandria	Alexandria	Public 4-year	5,000–9,999
Louisiana Christian University	Pineville	Private non-profit 4-year	Under 1,000

Workforce development and job centers

The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving Rapides 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).

Rapides Parish Workforce Development Board
Rapides

Rapides American Job Center
Alexandria · Comprehensive · 318-487-5532
Monday -Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm

Cities in Rapides Parish

Other Louisiana counties

All of Louisiana

Laid off or looking for work in Rapides Parish?

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See your options after a layoff

Sources: 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.

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