Ouachita Economic Development Corporation

Key Facts

Ouachita Parish had the 2nd highest dollar investment in Louisiana in 2000 ($872.6 million), up from 3rd place in 1999.

The parish labor force has grown 12.3% over the last decade.

The manufacturing base in both the parish and region is higher than the state.

Population has grown 3.6% over the last decade, a higher rate than the state.

Telecommunications companies such as AT&T and McLeod USA have built major fiber optic infrastructure along Interstate-20.

"State Farm Insurance Companies has maintained its Mid-South Regional Headquarters in Monroe since 1968. At this site, the company currently employs approximately 1400 and has roughly doubled the size of its area staff over the past seven years. One of the main reasons for our growth here has been our ability to attract employees of a quality that has enabled State Farm's Mid-South operation to become one of the most productive sites in the company. State Farm's management knows that its Mid-South Region team can get the job done."

- Guy Barr
Regional Vice President
State Farm Insurance Companies

Introduction

The Ouachita Parish area economy has moved from one of dependency on the agriculture and wood/timber industries to one of strength and diversity. Over the last several decades, as the population and needs of the people grew, so did the industrial base. Several new primary industries including paper and pulp, plastics, insurance, telecommunications and medical services, now provide a broad base for the local economy and surrounding region.

Of major significance to the growth of the economy was the location of the State Farm Mid-South Regional Headquarters in the late 1960's, which currently employees nearly 1,100 persons in a new 100,000 square foot facility in Monroe.

CenturyTel, a leading telecommunications firm headquartered in Monroe, grew from a small family-owned business providing local telephone service in rural North Louisiana to a major employer both in and outside of the state. (6,000 employees in 6 states)

These and related companies have resulted in a more diversified economy and a higher skilled work force.

The civilian labor force has grown 12.3 percent over the last decade to and the 8-parish region provides a total of nearly 151,000. Within the parish, the unemployment rate has decreased with the growth of the economy, however, the average for 2000 was 4.3 percent, up from 1999's 3.9 percent.