Official expects job creation

• By SARAH CHACKO
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Dec 4, 2008 - Page: 14A - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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More than 17,000 new jobs are expected to be created in the next decade as 32 businesses open or expand in the state, Department of Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret said Wednesday.

The projects, ranging from chemical plants to a post-production film site, are commitments made since Jan. 1 and are in different phases of completion, Moret said after meeting with the Joint Legislative Commerce Committee.

Most of the businesses should be up and running in three years, with some coming in five to 10 years, he said.

The state should reap about $44 million in new annual sales tax revenue after the businesses are fully employed, Moret said.

More than 400 new jobs are expected to be created through five companies locating or expanding in East Baton Rouge Parish.

In his testimony to the committee, Moret emphasized the need for economic competitiveness, both as a state and in local communities.

“A large portion of the job base is in industries that are more likely to shrink than they are to grow,” Moret said.

More investment needs to be made in high-growth industries, such as nuclear manufacturing and digital media, he said.

Moret said his department is working to “reposition Louisiana as the next great American state.”

Despite the economic downturn, Louisiana has outperformed the nation and other Southern states in employment and job growth, Moret said.

But, “We are not immune from what’s happening around the world, what’s happening around the country,” he said.

Moret said the market for oil and gas has to stay where it is, at about $60 a barrel, or increase.

Any decline in the price could hurt the industry, he said.