Where To Now, Louisiana?

The journey we are on is leading us down a path that none of us
have been on before. As individuals, as family members, as bosses
or as employees, none of us know with any certainty what we're
doing or where we're going. As a state we're in the same
position. On this edition of out to Lunch, we're asking, Where To
Now, Louisiana?


The Covid-19 pandemic has changed so much about our lives, it’s
hard to think of a part of our life that it hasn’t affected. But
of all the changes, the biggest casualty - other than health - is
employment. Currently, the number of unemployed people in the
United Sates is hovering around a staggering 22 million.


Although this is a nationwide problem, the stop-gap solution to
unemployment – the payment of unemployment compensation – is left
to the states.


Unemployment compensation is structured like insurance. It works
on the assumption that only a relatively small number of people
will be unemployed at any one time. So, when 20 million
people suddenly lose their job on the same day, how do states
keep funding unemployment insurance and paying compensation?


Here in Louisiana, there’s a division of the Department of Labor
that handles all aspects of unemployment. It’s the Louisiana
Workforce Commission. 


The Assistant Secretary of Unemployment Insurance at the
Louisiana Workforce Commission is Robert Wooley.


It’s possible that the massive number of people who found
themselves out of a job can get re-hired just as quickly when
things open up. But what happens if it doesn’t work out that way?
What if the economy comes back slowly? How does the state keep
paying unemployment benefits to tens of thousands more people
than it budgeted for?


A Rare Opportunity For Self Reflection


Just a few weeks ago, the idea that we’d all stop our lives on
the same day and be self-imprisoned in our homes might have
seemed like the implausible plot of a dystopian series you’d see
on Netflix.


But now that it’s really happening, it’s providing us with an
un-imagined opportunity. Self-reflection. When things start back
up, do you want to jump back into the exact same life you were
living? Or could you use this period of suspended animation to
reassess, and make some changes?


These are questions Dr Stephen Barnes is asking. Except he’s
asking them about the State of Louisiana.


Dr. Barnes is Director of The Kathleen Babineaux Blanco Public
Policy Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. And
he’s a member of a select group of economists and advisers on the
Louisiana Revenue Estimating Conference – a government panel that
determines income projections that create the state budget.


Now that we’ve been forced to stop every non-essential business
in the state, when we start up again, Dr Barnes is thinking we
could do a few things differently.


There Are Still Job Opportunities out There


Even though there are more than 20 million people in the US right
now who are not working, and that is an extremely high number,
it’s not everybody. The total size of the US workforce is over
157 million.


Companies who remain open through this crisis, are hiring.
Reportedly, Amazon is still looking after already hiring 100,000
people, and WalMart is aiming to hire 150,000. Here in Louisiana,
workforce recruiters are actively looking for people to fill
positions. One of those recruiters is Henry Shurlds.


Henry is Partner and Vice President of One Source Professional
Search. On the company’s website there’s a home page message
that says, “We’ve weathered multiple economic and natural
disasters during our 17 years in business, each time emerging
stronger, and are confident our trusted client partners and
candidates will do the same.”


We’re all looking for good employment news about now. Believe it
or not, Henry sees local companies in Louisiana emerging stronger
from this crisis.


See photos from this show by Jill Lafleur on our website
https://itsbatonrouge.la/2020/04/21/where-to-now-louisiana/


Last week's Louisiana economic analysis of Louisiana and the
global economy is here.


See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.