NEW ORLEANS - In the first week of April, Louisiana formally launched the first statewide economic development strategy in more than 15 years. The 2025 plan, titled “Positioning Louisiana to Win,” aims to create a more competitive and inclusive economy by modernizing traditional sectors, supporting innovation, and addressing long-standing structural challenges.
"Positioning Louisiana to win means working as a team with a focus on what matters: The people and future of our state. It offers residents new career opportunities that provide growing wages and a stake in a sustainable, thriving future," said Louisiana Economic Development (LED) Secretary Susan B. Bourgeois.
Developed in partnership with McKinsey & Company, the strategy emphasizes a “whole-of-Louisiana” approach—encouraging collaboration between regions, state agencies, and the private sector.
“This is a cabinet-level collaboration to break silos and drive coordinated economic development,” said Michael Hecht, president and CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc.
The plan is built around several key priorities including a push to make it easier to do business in Louisiana, support for projects that give Louisiana residents access to growing wages, and efforts to attract and retain talent.
Workforce and Talent Retention: Louisiana loses roughly 30,000 residents each year, with nearly 42% holding at least a bachelor’s degree. The plan seeks to reverse this trend by creating high-quality jobs and aligning workforce training with in-demand roles. Currently, around 34,000 jobs remain unfilled due to mismatches in talent and workforce services—particularly in tech, engineering, and healthcare.
Ease of Doing Business: Louisiana ranks 8th lowest in cost of doing business in the U.S., a key advantage the plan aims to build on by improving permitting processes and regulatory clarity.
Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Louisiana is in the top 20 nationally for new business formation. New initiatives like LA.IO and the Louisiana Growth Fund—a $50 million venture capital fund—are designed to boost homegrown innovation. LA.IO is also spearheading the Louisiana Institute for Artificial Intelligence, which aims to equip 5,000 small businesses with AI tools.
Modernizing Traditional Industries: Special focus is given to transforming sectors like energy, ports, and manufacturing.
- Energy: While the oil and gas sector still dominates and is being promoted by the Trump administration as the preferred energy source, diversification is forging ahead as industries seek to bolster energy supplies that are cheaper, cleaner, and more sustainable. “The oil and gas industry has a hold on our self-image and our politics that is way disproportionate to their actual economic impact,” said Jan Moller of the Louisiana Budget Project.
- Carbon Capture: Louisiana seeks to become a national leader in carbon ecosystem management—leveraging carbon capture and sequestration while continuing to meet demand for LNG. However, opposition remains due to concerns about cost-benefit tradeoffs and the potential impact on the environment.
- Ports and Trade: With 31% of the state’s GDP driven by exports, the highest in the U.S., ports and cargo infrastructure is critical, but newly imposed tariffs are expected to significantly reduce trade volumes. LED is seeking $150 million from the state to quickly fund improvements like new roads or rail links along with an additional $2 million for a site-selection database to boost trade and attract business investment and growth.
- Aerospace & Defense: The strategy focuses on the expansion of military and space-related manufacturing.
- Agribusiness: Boosting food and biofuel production are another major focus.
- Life Sciences: Enhancing capabilities in biotech, pharmaceuticals, engineering, and technical services are important features of the strategy.
- Technology: Cybersecurity, AI, and digital infrastructure are another important focus of the strategy.
Tax Reform, Industry Pushback,Tariffs
In the March 29 special election, voters rejected all four of Gov. Jeff Landry’s proposed constitutional amendments, including his signature tax overhaul. The proposed changes triggered resistance from a range of groups including industries reliant on existing credits.
The film tax credit, for example, supports around 10,000 jobs and contributes $1 billion annually in economic activity and the historic tax credit generates $9 in economic activity for every $1 invested.
Additionally, the economic landscape is clouded by uncertainty. “A big part of [the slowdown] is folks don’t know what to do with these upcoming tariffs. In terms of business activity, businesses are in this wait-and-see mode,” said Alí R. Bustamante, Director of the Worker Power and Economic Security program at the Roosevelt Institute and Professor of Practice in the Department of Economics and Finance at the University of New Orleans. Bustamante emphasized that a skilled workforce could help the state weather the economic turbulence.
Measuring Success
Louisiana has a strong track record in STEM, with 16.2% of graduates earning STEM degrees. LED will continue to support workforce development efforts, particularly in STEM.
Recent investment wins, such as the announcement by Hyandai to build a $5.8 billion steel mill in Ascension Parish and Meta's building of the $10B data center in Richland parish, will provide high-paying jobs not just in STEM but across various skill sets. According to LED, Louisiana announced $16.1 billion in new capital investments in 2024 alone.
LED plans to track the success of the “Positioning Louisiana to Win” strategy by measuring wage growth, talent retention, venture capital funding, infrastructure investment, and business formation and scaling.
