NEW ORLEANS – A new report released by The Data Center and Brookings Institution shows that despite billions of dollars in post-Hurricane Katrina recovery funding and years of economic development efforts aimed at growing targeted industries, the New Orleans metropolitan area has lost more jobs since 2000 than any other major metropolitan area in the United States.
The report, "Household Economic Resilience in Metropolitan New Orleans After Hurricane Katrina," is the final installment in The New Orleans Index at Twenty Collection and was authored by Stacey Roussel, chief operating officer, and Dr. Christina LeBlanc, senior policy analyst for economic opportunity, at Invest in Louisiana.
It examines household economic resilience in the two decades since Hurricane Katrina, finding that while the region has benefited from significant public, philanthropic and private investment, many residents remain vulnerable to economic shocks due to stagnant wages, persistent inequities and limited opportunities for economic mobility.
Among its findings is that New Orleans has not fully recovered the jobs lost following Katrina and continues to experience the effects of repeated disruptions, including the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Ida in 2021.
The Data Center study estimates the metropolitan area lost approximately 60,000 jobs, or 9.6% of its employment base, between 2004 and 2024. Among the nation's 50 largest metropolitan areas, only four posted job losses between 2000 and 2024, with New Orleans recording the largest decline.
The Data Center: Targeted Industries Show Mixed Results
Economic development leaders began targeting nine industry clusters in 2010 in an effort to diversify and strengthen the regional economy. Several sectors posted gains between 2004 and 2023.
Water management added 2,698 jobs, representing 14% growth, while environmental services grew by 428 jobs, an increase of 108%. Information technology added 99 jobs, or 7% growth, and biopharmaceutical employment increased by 68 jobs, a 262% gain.
However, several historically significant industries experienced substantial losses over the same period.
Water transportation employment declined by 6,871 jobs, a 38% decrease, while oil and gas production and transportation lost 6,517 jobs, or 47% of its workforce. Construction products and services shed 979 jobs, upstream chemical products lost 612 jobs, and medical device employment declined by 414 positions.
Roussel and LeBlanc found traded-industry jobs remain an important source of higher-paying employment, averaging $82,968 annually in 2023, compared with $51,519 for local-serving industries and $68,352 for government-related jobs.
Wages Lag Behind Rising Costs
The Data Center study also found inflation-adjusted wages have largely stagnated, racial and gender wage gaps persist, and households in the bottom 20% of earners do not generate enough income to meet basic living expenses. Inflation-adjusted median earnings in metropolitan New Orleans increased modestly from $35,872 in 2010 to $40,944 in 2023, but remained well below the estimated $82,764 annual household survival budget for a family of four with one school-age child, according to the report.
The authors found that worker productivity has increased over time, but earnings have not kept pace. They further noted that access to employer-sponsored health insurance and retirement benefits remains substantially lower among low-wage workers than among higher-income workers.
According to the authors, the region's dependence on lower-wage industries, shrinking public-sector employment and state policies that limit local governments' authority to enact labor-related measures have constrained efforts to improve household economic security. Significant racial disparities also persist, they found. In 2023, median Black household income in metropolitan New Orleans was $38,815, compared with $82,922 for White households.
The authors point to several areas of progress, including expanded local investment in affordable early childhood education, improvements in access to some workplace benefits and job growth in select emerging industries.
To strengthen household economic resilience, the authors recommend a range of policy changes, including increasing Louisiana's Earned Income Tax Credit, establishing a state minimum wage, expanding access to workplace benefits, investing in affordable education and workforce training programs, and repealing state preemption laws that limit local policy initiatives. Louisiana is one of five states without a state minimum wage and defaults to the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
The report concludes that a more resilient New Orleans economy will require broader access to jobs that provide sustainable wages and benefits, stronger public supports and greater opportunities for workers to build long-term financial stability.
