BATON ROUGE — The capital region has recorded its highest population on record, the first Baton Rouge Area Chamber quarterly State of the Region released Monday says.

BRAC's Q1 data says that 880,000 people live in the Baton Rouge metro area.

The uptick in population has also seen multiple industries add thousands of new jobs, the report says. The healthcare sector specifically added 2,400 new jobs. All major job markets saw growth, but private education and construction joined healthcare as the ones with the most gains.

Specialty trade contractors led the way in the local construction industry's growth, with laborers up nine percent in the last year. The report directly references the recently announced $5.8 billion Hyundai steel plant in Ascension Parish that will require thousands of workers, as well as Exxon’s $100 million facility upgrade, as indicators that the job market will continue to be healthy.

BRAC said that the capital region added 6,900 non-farm jobs since last year, an all-time high and a two percent increase from last year's growth.

Earnings for workers are also up. The Baton Rouge metro was second to only Lake Charles in wage increases, recording a 14 percent boost.

The complete report can be read here.