The Baton Rouge Area Chamber unveiled a bullish forecast for 2011 jobs today at its annual economic forum. New job growth is expected to fall between 0.9% and 2% in the upcoming year, says Adam Knapp, chamber president and CEO. That comes after two consecutive years of job losses. The forecast is based on a survey of local businesses, done in conjunction with Business Report. Fields set to see job gains include the health-care sector, professional and technical services, information technology and digital media. Knapp says the most optimistic collective response he saw was the number of companies that expect to make more money in 2011. Seventy percent of the businesses that participated in the survey expect revenues will go up by 5% or more in 2011. “Overall, it’s a very positive outlook,” says Knapp, who noted that Baton Rouge has been one of the cities consistently ranked as having held up best during the recession. —Steve Sanoski
Today’s poll question: Do you foresee an increase in revenue at your business in 2011?
