Survey puts Lake Charles No. 1 for increase in construction employment
Published 6:50 am Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Lake Charles experienced a 27 percent increase in construction employment, the highest among the nearly 340 metro areas surveyed by Associated General Contractors of America.
The metro area grew from 10,600 construction jobs in July 2013 to 13,500 in July 2014, the time period surveyed by AGC.
Louisiana saw an increase of 7 percent, or 9,000 new construction jobs, with a total of nearly 140,000 statewide. Each Louisiana metro area examined by AGC saw a rise in construction jobs.
Baton Rouge ranked seventh with an increase of 7,900 jobs, a gain of 18 percent. The Houma-Thiobodaux area placed 50th on the national list with 500 new construction jobs, a 9 percent gain.
Lafayette placed 140th with 300 new jobs, a 4 percent gain. The New Orleans area ranked 212th with 400 new jobs, a 1 percent gain. Shreveport-Bossier City ranked 190th with 200 new construction jobs, a gain of 2 percent.
The influx of construction jobs has been attributed to Southwest Louisiana’s expanding petrochemical industry.
The Cheniere Energy LNG export facility in Johnson Bayou and the Golden Nugget Casino Resort are two of the largest construction projects in the region with a combined construction workforce exceeding 5,000 workers.
“As more companies attain the permits, financing and their board’s approval necessary to start the building process, the number of construction jobs in the region will increase dramatically,” said R.B. Smith, Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance vice president of workforce development.
Companies are expected to spend about $77 billion on capital investments in the region over the next three to five years.
Joseph H. Fleishman, vice chancellor for economic and workforce development at Sowela Technical Community College, said the increase in construction jobs will continue.
“In our region alone, we are predicting 36,647 new construction jobs over the next four years,” Fleishman said. “These jobs are here. They are hiring now. People in our programs are even being hired before they graduate.”
Loren Scott, an economic consultant, said the number of billion-dollar-plus projects in the Lake Charles metro area “is nothing short of astounding.”
Southwest Louisiana can expect an additional 25,000-30,000 construction jobs over the next five to 10 years, economic forecaster say.
