• Louisiana gained jobs over the last year, accelerating at year end, and all but one Louisiana region saw growth through October
• The state has a highly experienced workforce, but is experiencing population decline due to outmigration
• Wages have grown by 25% since 2019, and grew faster north of Interstate 10

BATON ROUGE, LA – A new report by the Committee of 100 highlights both the challenges and opportunities facing Louisiana’s economy. While the state has seen job growth and wage increases in recent years, it continues to lag the South in key metrics such as poverty rate, auto insurance costs, and population growth.

“Louisiana leaders made significant positive strides to drive economic growth this year, improvements to Louisiana Economic Development, education accountability, and much better tax policy,” said Adam Knapp, CEO of the Committee of 100 for Economic Development. “While Louisiana has seen some positive economic trends, we must work to create a more competitive environment that attracts and retains residents.”

Louisiana law makers made significant strides forward in 2024 to improve Louisiana’s competitiveness, addressing public policy areas including:

• Improving Louisiana Economic Development to make it more nimble and responsive to the private sector, winning investments like the massive Meta data center near Monroe;
• Making Louisiana’s tax climate more attractive for population growth and business investment;
• Passing a new state educational accountability system and workforce system design changes; and
• Making some in-roads to addressing the state’s property insurance crisis, although more remains to be done.

The report includes these key findings:

• Job Growth: Louisiana added 9,500 jobs over the past 12 months but remains 27,000 jobs below pre-COVID levels. The New Orleans and Baton Rouge metro areas led the state in job growth. More recent numbers from November appear to show it will continue to grow faster when year-end data arrives.
• Wage Growth: Wages in Louisiana have grown 25% since 2019, but still trail the Southern average. Wage growth has been stronger in areas north of Interstate 10.
• Industry Growth: The healthcare, construction, manufacturing, and professional services sectors are projected to grow fastest in Louisiana through 2032.
• Key occupations are growing: The occupations of healthcare, general managers, logistics, truck drivers, and software developers saw growth, and job postings were highest for nurses, MRI techs, and tax preparers

The report also illustrated a number of promising opportunities for Louisiana:

• Regional economic strengths vary: Lafayette is projected to grow professional services sector by 16%, faster than any other sector in any other region. Baton Rouge is projected to grow the construction, manufacturing, healthcare, and logistics sectors faster than all other regions. Monroe shows a bright spot in healthcare, as Houma does also in professional services and accommodations and Lake Charles does in manufacturing. New Orleans shows diverse economic growth in construction, manufacturing, healthcare, arts and entertainment, and logistics.
• Sectors projecting strong growth: Healthcare, construction, and skilled trades are projected to be the fastest-growing sectors in Louisiana through 2032. In particular, the healthcare sector is expected to add almost 20,000 new jobs across a range of occupations, including registered nurses, medical assistants, and home health aides
• Strong career education enrollment: The high percentage of high school students enrolled in career and technical education programs shows state education policies are improving, and positions Louisiana well to meet future workforce demands.
• Wage growth, north Louisiana compared to south Louisiana, has been substantially different, growing at 31% on average across Monroe, Shreveport/Bossier, and Alexandria metros, compared to 10% for south Louisiana metros.

C100’s report further highlighted these specific challenges:

• Still recovering: The state economy is still climbing back to pre-COVID job numbers.
• Poverty: Louisiana has the highest poverty rate in the South, and the highest child poverty in the South
• Auto Insurance: Louisiana drivers pay nearly $500 more per year for auto insurance than the Southern state average.
• Population Decline: Louisiana is one of three Southern states that has lost population since 2020 due to net negative migration.