Dreadful Economy Due to Covid? LEDA Says Not for Lafayette

We have heard from many business owners in recent weeks about the continued difficulty hiring workers. The reasons can be debated forever, but what does this challenge present to Lafayette's economy.

A resurgence of business has been happing with most industries in Lafayette even before full restrictions were being put in place. As we are seeing an influx of COVID cases, what does that mean for our future?

The CEO and Executive Director of the Lafayette Economic Development Authority, Gregg Gauthreaux joined us on Acadiana's Morning News to talk about these and other issues.

Gauthreaux says there are numerous examples of positivity in Lafayette's job market and economy:

• Taxable sales are up more than 25% over last year.
• He says projections show, based on taxable sales, those yearly sales will be between 6.8 and 7 billion dollars which he says would be a record.
• We had a 619 million dollar taxable sales month for the month of May which is the largest month ever on record.
• Unemployment is down in Lafayette to 6% which is lower than the rest of the region, state, and the nation.
• Employment is up, with 6,800 jobs over this time last year.

Gothreaux says he does believe that more positivity is on the way for Lafayette's economy.

There are still struggles, and one of those struggles is finding people to work in some sectors of the economy. Gothreaux says there are plenty of jobs that need to be filled. Thousands of positions need to be filled, and on Wednesday, August 4, LEDA will be hosting its annual job fair.

The LEDA Job Fair will be held at the Cajundome Convention Center Wednesday, August 4, 2021 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. If you're looking for a job, and you would like to know which employers will be at the job fair, click here.