NORIA Forecast Highlights Doubling Industrial Skilled Labor Demand 

NORIA Forecast Highlights Doubling Industrial Skilled Labor Demand 

The New Orleans Region Industry Alliance's (NORIA) bi-annual labor forecast shows significant growth in industrial construction demand along the entire Gulf Coast and in southern Louisiana among other key trends. 

“Industrial construction continues to be a major driver of local economic opportunity,” said Connie Fabre, President and CEO of the New Orleans Region Industry Alliance. “This projected growth underscores the importance of upskilling our workforce to meet industry demand and sustain the economic benefit of these projects for Louisianans.” 

The September 17, 2026, report forecasts skilled craft labor supply and demand across Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Lake Charles and the wider Gulf Coast through 2029. Industrial construction demand in the New Orleans region is projected to grow from about 10,000 workers today to nearly 20,000 by the fourth quarter of 2027. The full report covers each craft, quarter, wage trend and megaproject. 

Other key trends identified in NORIA’s labor forecast report include: 

• Labor demand is climbing fast as industrial projects ramp up. Industrial craft demand in the New Orleans region is projected to double between Q4 2026 and Q4 2027.  The crafts in highest demand include electricians, pipefitters/combo welders, concrete finishers, insulators, painters, millwrights and boilermakers. 

• The New Orleans Region faces demand pressure across key industrial crafts. The labor forecast projects industrial craft demand in the New Orleans region will more than double between the end of 2026 and early 2028, with electricians, millwrights, pipefitters, welders, instrumentation technicians, and welders among the crafts in highest demand. 

• Competition is shifting toward Lake Charles. With Louisiana and Texas wages now at near parity, the Lake Charles area's $123 billion in projected spending puts it in direct competition with the New Orleans region's $55 billion for the same workers during the same quarters. 

• Availability remains tight. Construction unemployment has fallen to 3.1%, below the overall rate of 4.3%, and 27% of Louisiana's industrial craft workforce is expected to retire within five years. 

• Specialty crafts face the steepest gaps. Across the Gulf Coast, projected peak demand for insulators and millwrights is more than 10 times the resident supply, with large shortfalls also expected for pipefitters, carpenters and electricians. 

• Broad construction spending drives the peak. Chemical, natural gas and refining projects account for a significant portion of the region's demand, which peaks in Q4 2027.  Industrial construction faces competition from not only regional commercial and governmental construction but also the $35.6 billion in announced data center projects statewide.