Areas hit by hurricanes still lack jobs |
|
|
|
Published
:
Fri, 17 Aug 2007 17:52
|
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Louisiana had nearly as many companies by the start of 2007 as it did before Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit in 2005. But the New Orleans area and Cameron Parish -- areas hard hit by the storms -- were still hurting for jobs, a new study finds.Businesses were returning and new businesses opening even in those areas, according to the report written by a Louisiana State University researcher for the Louisiana Recovery Authority, which released it Friday.But New Orleans had lost more than one-fifth of its employers, and those remaining were smaller, said the report by Dek Terrell, director of LSU's division for economic development. Job loss in the New Orleans area was much worse than employer loss, he said in an interview afterward.The report looked at the number of businesses statewide and in affected parishes from the the second quarter of 2005 -- the last full quarter before the hurricanes hit southeast Louisiana on Aug. 29 and the southwest on Sept. 24 -- through the last three months of 2006.New Orleans lost nearly 21 percent of its companies; employment was down by nearly one-third, 32.5 percent, Terrell said.'They are either cutting back their business or they are trying to do more with less,' David Bowman, the LRA's director of research and special projects, said during an earlier teleconference.Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Print this Story
Atlantic hurricane season will be above-normal - experts 