Moret: Recent past and immediate future look good for Louisiana

During the national recession, Louisiana’s population grew faster than that of the rest of the country while unemployment remained relatively low, and those trends continued in 2010, Louisiana Economic Development head Stephen Moret told the Baton Rouge Press Club today. The state’s nonfarm employment grew by 23,100 jobs from November 2009 to November 2010, at a rate nearly 90% faster than the nation as a whole and 40% faster than the South, LED says. Moret says expansions or relocations announced in 2010 could be worth over 18,800 new direct and indirect jobs and $5.5 billion in capital investments. LED’s biggest project announcement of the year involved Nucor Corp., which could create 1,250 jobs and a $3.4 billion investment in St. James Parish if every phase of its planned iron and steel production facility is built. Moret attributed much of the good news over the past three years to state ethics reforms, workforce development, including creation of Louisiana FastStart, and elimination of several business taxes. He also noted that financial services and durable goods manufacturing, two sectors hit hard by the recession, don’t have a large presence in Louisiana. Moret says Louisiana is well positioned to continue growing and secure new projects as the national recovery continues, although there is still uncertainty about the strength of the recovery and the regulatory and permitting environment faced by the energy sector. New permits for deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico have not yet been issued since the Deepwater Horizon disaster in April. —David Jacobs