Top 5 Employers in Louisiana: Which Companies Have the Most Jobs?

Louisiana is centrally located along the Gulf Coast with access to deep-water ports and railway lines, making it an ideal place for industry to flourish.

Here are the top five employers in Louisiana:

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1. Louisiana State University is a top employer in the state with five locations and a total of more than 25,000 employees on those campuses combined. The institution’s operations are a vital and critical part to the state economy. LSU’s presence in the state generates $3.9 billion in annual sales according to a 2013 Louisiana State University Economic Impact Study.

2. Dow Chemical Company operates six locations on a total of 4,000 acres in Louisiana. More than 6,000 people are employed at Dow, the largest petrochemical company in the state. The company pays nearly $60 million in state and local taxes each year and has a $312 million payroll.

3. ExxonMobil in Baton Rouge provides more than 5,000 local jobs through the use of employees and contractors. The Baton Rouge refinery produces a variety of chemical products, including gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, and lubricating oils.

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The company plans to hire additional employees during the next several years and will focus efforts on state university graduates.

4. Ingalls Shipbuilding’s Avondale Shipyard employs 4,800 people and has a $1 billion impact on the state of Louisiana. The shipyard has been operational for seven decades and, in that time, has produced more than 300 ships. Ingalls is the largest private manufacturer in the state and works with not only commercial contracts but completes military work as well. In operation since 1938, Ingalls is a 268-acre shipyard and is located 10 miles from New Orleans.

5. CenturyLink, the third-largest telecommunications company in the United States, operates its headquarters in Monroe, Louisiana. The company is included in Fortune 500’s list of America’s largest corporations with 2,600 employees working at the headquarters building according to Louisiana Economic Development. In 2013, the company expanded its square footage to more than 600,000 feet and acquired an additional 40 acres of property. CenturyLink dubbed its headquarters the “Technology Center of Excellence.”

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