Economic Concerns Grow Exponentially
While Louisiana has not yet felt the full brunt of the national economic recession, state and national economic concerns have grown exponentially over the past year. This is reflected in personal finances which have declined only slightly over the past year, while evaluations of national and state economic conditions are more dire. Since 2008, identification of the economy as one of the most important problems confronting the state increased by 12-points while the percentages saying state business conditions and national business conditions have gotten worse increased by 26-points and 40-points respectively. When asked if they think the worst is behind us or if the economy may get worse in the future, two-thirds of Louisianans say the economy may get worse. While the larger economic trends are national in scope, Louisianans give state government relatively low marks for attracting businesses and jobs in their local communities. Three percent of respondents rate state efforts at attracting business as excellent, 30 percent as good, 39 percent as fair, and 26 percent as poor. To this point, Louisiana has fared relatively well during a severe economic recession, but Louisiana residents are clearly worried that the economic horizon is darkening.