Pointe Coupee possesses a large supply of competitively priced, productive labor within close proximity to one of the world's most concentrated centers of petrochemical manufacturing. Companies locating in Pointe Coupee can count on both a large supply of low skilled labor, as well as an ample supply of highly skilled contract maintenance labor in the area. Some of the nation's largest contract employee firms operate out of Baton Rouge, including B & B Construction (The Bernard and Burk Group), Turner Industries, J. E. Merit Constructors, and Process Services. The principal source of low skilled labor is an area comprised of five contiguous parishes (counties) located north and east of Baton Rouge. The total population of this labor market is 186,400, and the labor force exceeds 66,850. In 1988, the unemployment rate for the area ranged from a high of 15.4 percent to 8.6 percent, in 1991. Despite the recent drop in the unemployment rate in the Pointe Coupee area, other measures of the workforce indicate the labor market is still characterized by higher than average unemployment and underemployment. A comparison of average income, earnings, and labor participation rates between the Pointe Coupee labor market area and the state, selected southern states, and the nation, reveals a more accurate account of the local available labor supply and cost. Annual earnings per job in the Pointe Coupee labor market are well below the regional and national average, reflecting the availability of competitively priced labor in the area. At $9,395, the per capita income of the five parish Pointe Coupee area is also nearly half the national per capita income ($16,490) and well-below the per capita income of both Louisiana ($12,296) and the selected southern states region ($13,470).

Another way to measure the Pointe Coupee area's potential labor supply is to compare the local "employment rate" with the state, region and nation. Employment rate is derived by dividing total employment by total population. While the unemployment rate measures only those people who are actively seeking jobs, the employment rate often reveals a more accurate account of an area's potential labor force. The employment rate for the Pointe Coupee labor market is 36 percent. As a result of Louisiana's poor economy in recent years, the employment rate in this five parish area is well below the national employment rate of 54 percent. Many people have discontinued actively seeking employment due to a lack of adequate job opportunities. In fact, to equal the national employment rate, an additional 33,914 new jobs would have to be created in the five-parish Pointe Coupee area. It could be assumed therefore, that the number of potentially available workers within reasonable commuting distance of Pointe Coupee Parish is 33,914.