New Orleans area employment is at approximately 85% of pre-Katrina levels (518,167 jobs) while 91% of the metro population has returned five years after Katrina, according to the January 2011 edition of the Metropolitan Report: Economic Indicators for the New Orleans Area, released by the University of New Orleans Division of Business and Economic Research.
The report also finds that New Orleans area employment is expected to reach 526,184 jobs (86% of pre-Katrina levels) by the third quarter of 2012. Jobs in leisure and hospitality and educational services are expected to add the largest number of jobs during the forecast window. The UNO Forecasting Model provides detailed forecasts of economic activity in the seven parishes that make up the New Orleans metropolitan statistical area. Other highlights of the January 2011 Metropolitan Report include:
· Tourism had a very strong first half in 2010 with hotel occupancy and room rates up substantially from similar months in 2009.
· When comparing averages during the first three quarters, only a few sectors had significant growth in 2010 compared to 2009. Those growth areas were health care and social assistance, leisure and hospitality, government, and entertainment and recreation.
· Nearly half of the sectors had losses during the first three quarters of 2010 compared to 2009. The sectors with the highest loss of jobs were manufacturing, construction, durable goods manufacturing, transportation equipment, financial activities, and wholesale trade.
· Employment in retail trade was up slightly (0.5%) during the first three quarters in 2010 compared to 2009. When combining parishes in the metro area, total taxable sales were down by 4.7% year-to-date.
The complete report is accessible on the UNO College of Business Administration website at http://business.uno.edu/docs/DBER/UNO%20January%202011%20Metropolitan%20Report.pdf