Every time Louisiana comes close to passing the 2 million jobs threshold, an unpredictable jolt to the economy comes along to prevent that from happening, says economist Loren Scott.
First it was the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, then hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, and most recently the Great Recession. Louisiana is once again poised to crack the 2 million mark, Scott says, and all it would take to reach the milestone is for a handful of the potential projects on the radar screen to come to fruition.
“We’re starting to head towards it again,” he told those gathered at Business Report‘s Top 100 Luncheon this afternoon. “Hopefully, this time we will make it.”
There are, however, a few negatives on the horizon that will slow the momentum, he says, such as the sluggish national recovery; layoffs at Avondale Shipyard in New Orleans and the loss of the General Motors plant in Shreveport; and the flight of companies away from the Haynesville Shale.
Regardless, the positives mostly outweigh the negatives in “The Louisiana Economic Outlook” report, released at the Top 100 Luncheon today by Scott and economist Jim Richardson. Among them, natural gas prices remain low; the full return of deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico is expected by early 2013; a number of new large projects are under way, have been announced or are expected; and claim payments for damages caused by the BP oil spill and the RESTORE Act are on the way, which could pump billions into the state.
In the report, the economists forecast the Capital Region to add about 5,000 jobs (+1.4%) in 2013 and about 4,000 jobs (+1.1%) in 2014. Read more about the local forecast from Daily Report here.
