New Orleans, Louisiana was one of the most successful cities during the most recent Recession. Although what some economists refer to as “The Great Recession” started in late 2007 through June of 2009, one of the longest since the Great Depression, New Orleans managed to thrive.
The United States economy has always had its flaws. Our economy is built so that it will experience peaks and troughs. One of the main contributors to the recession was the Housing market in the early to mid 2000’s. The Occupy Wall Street Movement represented the people’s anguish over the whole matter. A reaction to the debt crisis by the Federal Reserve was to poor large sums of money into the economy, which never really solved the main flaws.
So with our country in such poor shape, why was New Orleans so lucky?
“One thing that has helped New Orleans do better than the rest of the country is that our housing prices never soared,” says Peter Richiutti, Professor of Economics at Tulane University. “So there wasn’t much drop back when the bust hit nationally.”
Of course, New Orleans also has suffered more than most other cities in the country. Hurricane Katrina was a catastrophic event that definitely set the city back. We still struggle to gain back the population to pre-Katrina levels. However, the abundance of help we received has lasted years, and we have grown in our recovery. All of the benefits gave us a huge boost, so much so that when the rest of the country was slowly running out of money, we were still gaining.
“Louisiana got around 33 Billion dollars in recovery money from Katrina.” said Walter Lane, Chair of Economics and Finance at The University of New Orleans. Mr. Lane continued by stating, “That kind of money will help the city function for a long time to come.”
The money put into hospitals, schools, construction, etc. have had the lion share of aid.
New Orleans reached a new level of efficiency the last few years. New laws, corporations and businesses have helped the economy to continue running at a high or at least respectable level. The shipbuilding industry, as well as the Oil and Gas industry, has remained to be key in the economy. From 2008 to today, our unemployment has been around 7 percent, very close to the goal of 5 percent that cities aim for.
New Orleans is known almost like a land of opportunity around the country. Of course, the various fun events the city hosts attract people year round. But the chance to create something fresh, to pioneer, in a place that has such a captivating comeback story keeps people coming.
When asked on what he believes to be the outward view of New Orleans to the rest of the country, Mr Richiutti said, “New Orleans has become America’s Petri dish. The city is moving in the right direction.”
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Business
New Orleans’ business sector stayed active during the recession. With all of the money that was poured into the economy by Katrina recovery funds, businesses received the boom they needed.
Our city was recently named the nation’s best city for young entrepreneurs. Not only are young adults coming to enjoy themselves, but to make a living as well. Many Colleges have seen record enrollments the last few years. Educated youth are cementing this city’s future.
“New Orleans is now considered the hippest City in America,” said Mr. Richiutti, Finance Professor at Tulane. “Young smart people are moving here in droves.”
In 2008, Louisiana was named one the two dominant states in terms of southern economic development. In the core of the recession, Louisiana refused to falter.
33 major projects were announced in 2009, saving the city’s unemployment rate from increasing like many other cities experienced in that year. Many of these deals meant either the gain or loss of nearly 1000 jobs. The growth of new businesses coupled with government incentives prevented a potential 8000 job loses. Government incentives also played a factor; breaks on taxes and rebates to businesses that create well paying jobs attracted many employers.
One major company, Entergy, handled the recession just fine. The Energy Industry gave New Orleans its necessary stability.
“Entergy made a total of 11.27 billion dollars in 2010,” said an Entergy representative. “Our goal financially is to retain long-term optionality to capture the benefits of ongoing economic growth.”
Separately, so many of the mainstays of New Orleans economy are strong. But a popular idea in further enhancing the economy is to tie the industries together. In an interview, Mayor Mitch Landrieu briefly stated,”One way the tourism industry can further develop is to seek out other industries. Branching out would be a big step forward.”
With so much activity in the city, that public has responded well. Housing prices have not risen significantly, unlike the majority of the country, even in this “pioneering period” in Louisiana. Public money has never been more vital in our economy. Business development in general was a big reason why the recession barely affected us.
New Orleans’ business sector stayed active during the recession. With all of the money that was poured into the economy by Katrina recovery funds, businesses received the boom they needed.
Our city was recently named the nation’s best city for young entrepreneurs. Not only are young adults coming to enjoy themselves, but to make a living as well. Many Colleges have seen record enrollments the last few years. Educated youth are cementing this city’s future.
“New Orleans is now considered the hippest City in America,” said Mr. Richiutti, Finance Professor at Tulane. “Young smart people are moving here in droves.”
In 2008, Louisiana was named one the two dominant states in terms of southern economic development. In the core of the recession, Louisiana refused to falter.
33 major projects were announced in 2009, saving the city’s unemployment rate from increasing like many other cities experienced in that year. Many of these deals meant either the gain or loss of nearly 1000 jobs. The growth of new businesses coupled with government incentives prevented a potential 8000 job loses. Government incentives also played a factor; breaks on taxes and rebates to businesses that create well paying jobs attracted many employers.
One major company, Entergy, handled the recession just fine. The Energy Industry gave New Orleans its necessary stability.
“Entergy made a total of 11.27 billion dollars in 2010,” said an Entergy representative. “Our goal financially is to retain long-term optionality to capture the benefits of ongoing economic growth.”
Separately, so many of the mainstays of New Orleans economy are strong. But a popular idea in further enhancing the economy is to tie the industries together. In an interview, Mayor Mitch Landrieu briefly stated,”One way the tourism industry can further develop is to seek out other industries. Branching out would be a big step forward.”
With so much activity in the city, that public has responded well. Housing prices have not risen significantly, unlike the majority of the country, even in this “pioneering period” in Louisiana. Public money has never been more vital in our economy. Business development in general was a big reason why the recession barely affected us.
Tourism
New Orleans is and always has been a hotspot for exciting events. Our rich culture gives us a great distinction from every place else. Whether its young adults coming to enjoy the hysteria that is Mardi Gras, or slightly older generations venturing to hear various styles of music at Jazz Fest and Essence, they will have an extremely remarkable experience.
Throughout the recession, New Orleans tourism held strong. The thoughts of escaping their current life situation, to simply change their location entirely and enjoy themselves were ever so present in the minds of tourists. The number of visitors increases yearly from 7.2 million in 2008 to 8.3 million by 2010.
“Tourism is a mainstay of the area's economy,” said Mark Romig, CEO of New Orleans Tourism and Corporation. He continued, “It has been a workhorse in bringing back the city's economic health since the recession of 2008-2009. Tourism is New Orleans' largest employer and generates approximately $250 million in direct tax revenue to the city. ”
Even though Louisiana is the top state in tourist attractions in the country, easily beating out Texas and California, the industry still tries to grow.
“Each year the city's many events add to the economic health of the city - it is easy to see how these events grow larger from year to year,” said Dr. John Williams, Professor and Director of The University of New Orleans’ Hospitality Research Center. “The city is preparing for an unprecedented schedule of national and international events over the next 18 months, including two NCAA Final Four tournaments, the BCS National Championship and the Super Bowl. All of these events and more will have an historic impact on the city.”
New Orleans is truly exuberant, but the majority of tourists come here for a more relaxing time. Approximately 77 percent visit strictly for leisure, usually staying for 3 to 4 nights. This is a complete sentiment to how exotic our city is; almost as if New Orleans was a foreign country, like France or Italy. Tamer businesses such as restaurants and museums received a spike since Katrina.
“Tourism is a big driver to the economy. Its much bigger than people believe,” said Mr. Richiutti, Finance Professor at Tulane. “For instance, while someone might not work directly for a hotel or the airport, a large percentage of their business comes from Tourists.”
With all the fun around our city, you have to ask yourself, “What recession?”
New Orleans is and always has been a hotspot for exciting events. Our rich culture gives us a great distinction from every place else. Whether its young adults coming to enjoy the hysteria that is Mardi Gras, or slightly older generations venturing to hear various styles of music at Jazz Fest and Essence, they will have an extremely remarkable experience.
Throughout the recession, New Orleans tourism held strong. The thoughts of escaping their current life situation, to simply change their location entirely and enjoy themselves were ever so present in the minds of tourists. The number of visitors increases yearly from 7.2 million in 2008 to 8.3 million by 2010.
“Tourism is a mainstay of the area's economy,” said Mark Romig, CEO of New Orleans Tourism and Corporation. He continued, “It has been a workhorse in bringing back the city's economic health since the recession of 2008-2009. Tourism is New Orleans' largest employer and generates approximately $250 million in direct tax revenue to the city. ”
Even though Louisiana is the top state in tourist attractions in the country, easily beating out Texas and California, the industry still tries to grow.
“Each year the city's many events add to the economic health of the city - it is easy to see how these events grow larger from year to year,” said Dr. John Williams, Professor and Director of The University of New Orleans’ Hospitality Research Center. “The city is preparing for an unprecedented schedule of national and international events over the next 18 months, including two NCAA Final Four tournaments, the BCS National Championship and the Super Bowl. All of these events and more will have an historic impact on the city.”
New Orleans is truly exuberant, but the majority of tourists come here for a more relaxing time. Approximately 77 percent visit strictly for leisure, usually staying for 3 to 4 nights. This is a complete sentiment to how exotic our city is; almost as if New Orleans was a foreign country, like France or Italy. Tamer businesses such as restaurants and museums received a spike since Katrina.
“Tourism is a big driver to the economy. Its much bigger than people believe,” said Mr. Richiutti, Finance Professor at Tulane. “For instance, while someone might not work directly for a hotel or the airport, a large percentage of their business comes from Tourists.”
With all the fun around our city, you have to ask yourself, “What recession?”
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
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