The Westside Journal
BATON ROUGE — The Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) today forecast that the regional economy is primed for growth in 2022, based upon new survey data and private forecasts included in its 2022 Economic Outlook report, which was released at a luncheon event presented by IBERIABANK, a division of First Horizon Bank. The report is available for download at brac.org/research.
“The bottom line is that the Baton Rouge Area is well on its way to full economic recovery,” said Adam Knapp, president and CEO of BRAC. “We are experiencing dynamic economic growth.”
The presentation, given by Knapp and BRAC’s Senior Vice President of Business Intelligence Andrew Fitzgerald, offered insights, analysis and a forecast of the Capital Region’s economy for the upcoming year based on BRAC analysis and surveying.
Key takeaways from the 2022 Economic Outlook include:
• Regional businesses expect revenues and staffing to increase notably in 2022
• Many industries have bounced back from COVID job losses, but the labor shortage threatens to keep the Capital Region job count below 2019 levels for the year ahead
• Workforce issues continue to track ahead of traffic as the top business concern
• Aggregate enrollment at regional higher education institutions, at 55,000, hit a record high for the third consecutive year
• Baton Rouge saw a second year in a row of net in-migration overall
• The region struggles to retain the young professional demographic of 25-45 year olds
• There is more diversity in management positions in Baton Rouge than peer cities or the U.S. overall. Black residents are still underrepresented in these management positions.
In addition to presenting the 2022 Economic Outlook, BRAC announced that the Capital Region saw the highest announced investment from economic development wins in its history in 2021, at $7.8B across 17 projects. Those projects account for 1,865 direct new jobs, and span industries including petrochemical, tech, logistics, and transitional energy.
BRAC began producing the annual Economic Outlook in 2007. Since its inception, the report has become the market standard for annual regional economic data, providing the most comprehensive snapshot of regional economic indicators and business survey data available.
BRAC’s business intelligence team provides custom research services for businesses. Businesses interested in labor market resear ch, economic impact modeling, demographic and economic data, general research, and consulting should contact Senior Vice President of Business Intelligence Andrew Fitzgerald at andrew@brac.org.
About the Baton Rouge Area Chamber
The Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) leads economic development in the nine-parish Baton Rouge Area, working to grow jobs and wealth and to improve the business climate and competitiveness in the region. Today, BRAC investors include more than 1,400 small businesses, mid-sized firms, large industry and entrepreneurial startups, as well as individuals and organizations that support business and economic development. In this capacity, BRAC serves as the voice of the business community, providing knowledge, access, services and advocacy. More information is available at www.brac.org.