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Return to Growth: Louisiana's Economy Today
Overview | Gross state product | Investment | Major planned projects | Key industries Key incentives | Employment snapshot | Regional contacts at-a-glance
Louisiana’s Economy Today
Billions in economic development announcements in 2006 and big strides in recovery efforts helped to earn Louisiana the distinction of "State of the Year," according to Southern Business & Development magazine.
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Citing the state's economic growth in spite of the challenges of hurricane recovery, the site selection publication gave Louisiana the honor in its annual spring Top 100 issue.
“The economic development performance of Louisiana in calendar year 2006 was nothing less than extraordinary, considering what the state went through in 2005,” said Southern Business & Development editor Michael Randle in an editorial for the publication.
Southern Business & Development ranked Southern states on a points system based on the investment and job announcements from the previous year. The states received scores for recruiting corporations and industries that offer a large number of jobs or investment. According to Randle, Louisiana nearly doubled its point total from the previous year, with a score of 220.
Outlook for 2008-2009
The Louisiana Economic Outlook, a preview of the next two years by economist Loren Scott and co-authors, was released in October at the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report's annual BizTech Expo. The Outlook includes updates on job growth, employment, population shifts and business recovery. Below are some of the highlights from the summary.
Overall, Louisiana should gain 37,200 jobs in 2008, a 1.9 percent growth rate, and a similar growth in 2009, the report said. It also predicts Baton Rouge will add 14,800 jobs in 2008 and 2009. Even though it is a 2 percent growth rate, it is not as heady as the roughly 20,000 jobs Baton Rouge added within 18 months of Hurricane Katrina.
As the annual forecast shows, even though 2005’s hurricanes shuffled Louisiana’s demographics and took the state back to 1997 jobs numbers, Louisiana should be within 3,400 jobs of its pre-storm employment level at the end of 2007 and should surpass pre-storm employment sometime in 2008.
Scott and LSU economist co-authors Jim Richardson and Dek Terrell also predicted these developments in the economy in 2008 and 2009:
- Population shifts in Louisiana will continue to aggravate labor shortages, with incentives emerging to keep older workers in the workforce and more outsourcing and immigration encouraged. Shortages will be worst in the construction field.
- New Orleans will continue to add jobs at a rate of about 1,000 a month, a growth rate of about 2.4 percent, and the city's economy will be buoyed by about $16 billion in planned projects.
- Lafayette will leverage an expanding energy economy and hospital and retail growth to create 6,300 new jobs over the next two years, making it one of the state's hottest metro areas.
- Shreveport/Bossier City should gain 5,800 jobs during the two-year cycle, but a decision to make Barksdale Air Force Base the permanent home for the military's cyberspace command could make the forecast “wildly too pessimistic” the Outlook authors said.
- Lake Charles is fully recovered, from a job standpoint, from the effects of Hurricane Rita, and will gain 2,800 jobs during the next two years. A $1.4 billion synthetic gas manufacturing plant could become the city’s largest single capital investment.
- High energy prices and shipbuilding activity also will boost Houma, where an expected 5,200 jobs will be created in 2008 and 2009. Oil prices will vary from $58 to $72 a barrel, the report predicts, though recent prices have spiked to the upper $80s.
- More modest growth is forecast in Alexandria (700 to 1,000 new jobs per year) and in Monroe (about 650 new jobs a year).
- Job growth of about 1.8 percent is predicted in the 35 or so mostly rural parishes, though growth will be stronger in St. Mary (energy, fabrication and casino growth); Tangipahoa (retail and service growth spillover from New Orleans) and Vernon (prospects for a potential 4,000-person brigade to be added to Fort Polk).
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GROSS STATE PRODUCT
$193,138 billion (2006 advanced estimate)
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
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INVESTMENT
$30 billion cumulative investment from companies based in other countries (FY 2005)
$4.1 billion in new capital investments representing 4,165 new jobs (FY 2005)
$600 million cumulative investment in advanced technology infrastructure (since 2001)
Source: Louisiana Economic Development
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MAJOR PROJECTS, 2007-2009
- Synfuel coal gasification plant, Ascension Parish
$5 billion
- Marathon Oil refinery expansion, St. John Parish
$3.2 billion
- LNG import facilities, Lake Charles MSA
$2 billion +
- Faustina Hydrogen Products plant, St. James Parish
$1.6 billion
- Entergy power plant retrofit, St. John Parish
$1.55 billion
- Port of Lake Charles gasification plant, Calcasieu Parish
$1.3 billion
- La. Highway 1 improvements, Houma MSA
$1.3 billion
- Shintech PVC manufacturing complex, Iberville Parish
$1 billion
- Cleco power plant retrofit, Rapides Parish
$1 billion
- New Lake Pontchartain twin-span, Orleans/St. Tammany parishes
$963 million
- Huey Long Bridge widening, Jefferson Parish
$660 million
- River Studios movie production facility, WBR Parish
$495 million
Source: Louisiana Economic Outlook
A more extensive list of planned investments and construction projects is available from the World Trade Center of New Orleans.
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KEY INDUSTRIES
Oil & gas, energy and petrochemical; construction; logistics & transportation; materials; agriculture, food & forestry; manufacturing; life sciences; information technology; entertainment & film; tourism.
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KEY INCENTIVES
Gulf Opportunity Zone, Enterprise Zones, Renewal Community Tax Credits, Industrial Tax Exemption Program, Quality Jobs Program, Workforce Development and Training Program, film and digital media tax credits
MARKET POTENTIAL
The state of Louisiana is a resource-rich region located on the Gulf of Mexico. It is a major source of U.S. petroleum and refined petroleum products, natural gas, petrochemicals, forest products, agricultural crops, salt, sulphur and seafood.
Louisiana is strategically located astride the mouth of the Mississippi River. Its location makes it the natural gateway into the heavily industrialized Mississippi River Valley, as well as the logical point of export for much of the goods and produce of the American Midwest.
Nearly 50 million people reside within a 500-mile radius of central Louisiana, a
market area that is expected to grow by more than 5.8% between 2005 and 2010. Distribution to this growing consumer market is economical via Louisiana's extensive highway, rail, water and air transportation infrastructure.
EMPLOYMENT SNAPSHOT
| Population | 4,119,415* |
| Civilian Labor Force | 1,860,221 |
| Employment | 1,790,329 |
| Unemployment | 69,892 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.8% |
| Total Nonfarm Employment | 1,769,600 |
| By sector | Employment | % of total |
| Goods Producing | 304,200 |
| Natural Resources & Mining | 48,300 | 2.7 |
| Construction | 110,200 | 6.2 |
| Manufacturing | 145,700 | 8.2 |
| Durable Goods | 77,700 |
| Nondurable Goods | 68,000 |
| Service Providing | 1,465,400 |
| Trade, Transportation & Utilities | 365,100 | 20.6 |
| Wholesale Trade | 73,600 |
| Retail Trade | 212,000 |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | 79,500 |
| Information | 28,400 | 1.6 |
| Financial Activities | 95,200 | 5.4 |
| Professional & Business Services | 173,300 | 9.8 |
| Education & Health Services | 211,000 | 11.9 |
| Leisure & Hospitality | 175,700 | 9.9 |
| Other Services | 59,100 | 3.3 |
| Government | 357,600 | 20.2 |
*Summer 2006 estimate based on 2005 Census estimate plus 2006 Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals population surveys.
Employment source: Louisiana Department of Labor, August 2006.
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REGIONAL CONTACTS AT-A-GLANCE
Louisiana has eight regional planning districts that work to assist municipal and parish governments, promote economic development, and assist new, small and expanding businesses. These quasi-governmental organizations can typically help with planning, research, grants and loans, and information about other agencies you need to contact.
District 1
Regional Planning Commission
1340 Poydras Street, Ste. 2100
New Orleans, LA 70112
Ph: (504) 568-6611
Fax: (504) 568-6643
District 2
Capitol Region Planning Commission
333 North 19th St.
P.O. Box 3355
Baton Rouge, LA 70821
Ph: (225) 383-5203
Fax: (225) 383-3804
District 3
South Central Planning & Development Commission
5058 West Main St.
P.O. Box 1870
Houma, LA 70360
Ph: (985) 851-2900
Fax: (985) 851-4472
District 4
Acadiana Regional Development District
601c Loire Ave.
P.O. Box 90070
Lafayette, LA 70507
Ph: (337) 886-7782
Fax: (337) 886-7081
District 5
Imperial Calcasieu Planning & Development Commission
326 Pujo Street
P.O. Box 3164
Lake Charles, LA 70602
Ph: (337) 433-1771
Fax: (337) 433-6077
District 6
Kisatchie-Delta Planning & Development District, Inc.
3516 Parliament Court
Alexandria, LA 71303
Ph: (318) 487-5454
Fax: (318) 487-5451
District 7
Coordinating and Development Corp.
5210 Hollywood Ave.
P.O. Box 37005
Shreveport, LA 71133-7005
Ph: (318) 632-2022
Fax: (318) 632-2099
District 8
North Delta Regional Planning & Development District, Inc.
1913 Stubbs Ave.
Monroe, LA 71201
Ph: (318) 387-2572
Fax: (318) 387-9054
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