A new economic outlook has some good news for the New Orleans metro area's economic outlook: jobs are coming back to the area.
But there is a catch to that good news. LSU economics professor emeritus Loren Scott says one of the metro area's big jobs drivers continues to shrink, and he's not sure that it will ever fully recover in the post-COVID world.
"We're anticipating a little over 12,000 new jobs for the area going forward," Scott told WWL's Dave Cohen. "This would be the second-fasted growing area in the state in terms of jobs, not in terms of percentage growth."
Scott is quick to point out the darker side of those statistics, which are included in his 2025-26 Economic Outlook.
"You'd still be below where you were in 2019 before COVID," he said. "Even with the job growth that we're forecasting, we still do not have New Orleans recapturing all of the jobs it lost during COVID."
Scott says as long as the area's convention economy continues to lag, the New Orleans metro will fail to reach its pre-pandemic jobs figures.
"If you look at it by year, it's been steadily going downward from 155 down to now 80," Scott said. "This has just been an unfortunate drag on the economy. Until that part of the economy starts to recover and come back, it's going to be like a ship is dragging an anchor."
Changing attitudes towards the need for conventions may be playing a roll in keeping the area's convention economy down.
"COVID really changed a lot of things, and one of the things was the way that we exchange information," Scott said. "Some people, especially the younger folks, they don't see the point of actually going to a meeting."
