Louisiana Earns National Honors and Top 10 Rankings for Capital Investment, Workforce Development and Life Sciences Growth

• Area Development Magazine Gives Louisiana Gold and Green Shovel Awards for booming energy investment.

• Business Facilities Magazine ranks Louisiana Top 10 in U.S. for custom workforce training, tech talent pipeline and life sciences sector strength.

• National recognition follows passage of four bills designed to accelerate the state’s economic progress. 

BATON ROUGE, La. – Two respected business trade publications have recognized Louisiana’s increasing economic strength with national awards for surging capital investment and Top 10 rankings for customized workforce training, tech talent pipeline and life sciences sector strength.

The awards and high rankings come on the heels of a milestone legislative session for economic development in Louisiana. Gov. Jeff Landry signed into law four new statutes designed to enhance the state’s ability to secure new and expanding business investment and attract, retain and develop skilled workers.

“Three things about Louisiana’s economy are irrefutably true: Business investment is increasing, a strategic plan for growth and innovation is emerging, and our industries and workforce are diversifying,” Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan B. Bourgeois said. “It’s encouraging to see national economic development experts validate that hard-earned progress. The Governor, the Legislature, LED and all of our public and private sector partners have confronted the challenges our state faces head on, and are positioning Louisiana to win.”

Area Development magazine awarded Louisiana its coveted Gold Shovel, awarded annually to states that have secured economic development projects with exceptional capital investment and job creation. It also made Louisiana the recipient of its first-ever Green Shovel, honoring “Louisiana’s impressive commitment to renewable energy.” The state has announced nearly $60 billion of energy innovation and emissions reduction projects in the last five years.

“’Local booms’ are what Area Development’s Shovel Awards recognize,” Area Development wrote. “Each year, we scan the records of project announcements to see which states are epicenters of growth. Those with exceptionally strong activity are honored with Gold and Silver shovels.”

Business Facilities’ annual state rankings report once again recognized LED FastStart as one of the nation’s best workforce development programs. The state finished No. 2 for its customized workforce training program, the 15th year in a row it has finished either first or second in the country in that critical category. Louisiana also finished in the Top 5 for best U.S. tech talent pipeline for a second consecutive year, and Top 10 for life sciences strength for the first time.

“Focused on more than 60 factors pertinent to site selection teams for business relocation and expansion investments, these rankings serve as a valuable resource for corporate site selectors and site selection consultants,” Business Facilities wrote.

Louisiana also finished among the Top 10 states in Site Selection Magazine’s 2024 Prosperity Cup, which ranks states by per capita new and expanded facilities, capital investment and jobs.

During the recently concluded 2024 session, the State Legislature sent the governor four new statutes with broad bipartisan support that are designed to further accelerate Louisiana’s economic progress:

• Act 590, known as the “Positioning Louisiana to Win” bill, modernizes the organizational structure of Louisiana Economic Development so it can move at the speed of business and empower private sector involvement in the state’s business attraction and retention efforts.
• Act 330 empowers the Louisiana Workforce Commission to address personnel shortages and improve workforce solutions across major economic sectors, in partnership with LED and Louisiana’s Department of Education, Board of Regents, Department of Children and Family Services and Community and Technical College System.
• Act 327 provides an incentive to companies to invest in lithium recovery projects in Louisiana, providing a major boost to the state’s rapidly expanding electrical vehicle battery supply chain cluster.
• Act 730 aims to spur growth in the state’s data center market, by providing a state and local sales and use tax rebate on the purchase of data center equipment.

Recognizing the state’s new economic leadership, vision and momentum, another national trade publication, Site Selection magazine, featured LED Secretary Bourgeois in its most recent issue.

“The state’s new leader of economic development is here to ‘blow it up,” reporter Gary Daughters wrote in the publication’s July State Spotlight. “Things are looking up in Louisiana. … Louisiana has unique assets that owe to its geography, legacy industries and culture. They translate well to emerging trends.”