A report by the Associated General Contractors of America shows that since the start of the pandemic, Louisiana has had the worst recovery of construction jobs in the nation. The state is still down 16.1% from February 2020 employment levels or 22,000 construction jobs.
LSU Economist Dr. Loren Scott told WWL this worst in the national recovery rate is largely a reflection of how slowly our economy has bounced back.
“If the economy, in general, is not going to recover as fast then one of the sectors of the economy that gets hit the most from a poorly performing economy is the construction sector,” said Scott.
Wyoming had the second-worst recovery, down 15.7%, while New York sits at third, down 11.6% according to data from the Associated General Contractors of America report.
Scott said there’s reason to believe that those lost jobs could be returning next year. He said there are a number of large industrial megaprojects across South Louisiana that are awaiting final approval, and could conceivably break ground in 2022.
“If we could get half of these to respond and kick-off then I think that would go a long way,” said Scott.
One of those proposed mega projects, a 9.4 billion dollar Formosa plant in St. James Parish, is now facing a potential two-plus-year delay according to The Advocate.
The proposed industrial site will now undergo an environmental impact review. The site has come under fire from some locals and environmental activists who say it’s an environmental danger to the community. Formosa officials disagree.
Given last year’s historic hurricane season you’d think there would be an abundance of construction jobs as people flock to rebuild storm-ravaged communities. That didn’t happen because of a remarkably slow federal response.
Scott said that’s robbed the state, and Southwest Louisiana in particular, of vital economic recovery activity in the form of abundant construction work.
“Normally when you have a problem like that, a natural disaster, within 120 days federal relief assistance is coming in to help you get back,” said Scott. “Well, it’s taken 12 months.”