The Council for A Better Louisiana says indicators measuring Louisiana’s well-being are trending downward from last year.
Compared to August of 2023, the state is making progress on less than half of the 35 indicators and losing ground on the same number. Indicators measuring outcomes in education and the workforce showed progress, while economic indicators were more of a mixed bag.
While poverty rates have fallen and income has risen by nearly 3.5%, broader barometers of the state’s economic well-being show concerning trends. Population loss and outmigration are a continuing problem.
Employment growth has been almost nonexistent over the last decade, and while it did tick up 0.5% over the last year, that was far less than what was seen in almost every other Southern state and well behind the U.S. growth rate of 1.7%. After recent improvement, Louisiana fell in the Tax Foundation’s ranking for state business tax climate.
“While there are certainly bright spots within this list of indicators, the general message is that we are not seeing the progress we need,” says Barry Erwin, CABL president. “We should be moving up or at least holding our ground on all of these indicators, but the fact that we are going in the wrong direction on nearly half of them should be a wakeup call for all of us.”
