By the Numbers

By the Numbers November/December

34%
Increase in Lafayette metro’s foreclosure rate in third quarter 2010 vs. third quarter 2009. Lafayette is one of four metros in state to experience a jump; New Orleans was highest, with a 56.4% increase. Baton Rouge had a 29.7% increase and Houma-Thibodaux had an 18.6% increase. Shreveport-Bossier was down 13.1%, and data was not released for Lake Charles, Monroe or Alexandria.

290
Number of Lafayette metro foreclosure actions in third quarter (one of every 388 properties)

Source: AP/RealtyTrac

 $42 million
Shortfall in funding formula for school districts, the result of the state budget underestimating the number of students attending public schools this school year. Lawmakers and the governor’s office will need to find the money before the fiscal year ends June 30.

9,000
Number of additional students who were in state public schools on Oct. 1 versus eight months earlier.

9
La.’s position in Site Selection magazine’s 2010 Top Business Climate Rankings, its highest ever

16
No. of spots Louisiana jumped in the rankings, the largest improvement of any state

By the Numbers October/November 2010

9
Louisiana’s ranking for worst drivers, based on an analysis of gas prices, insurance rates, infrastructure and legal climate for drivers; although Louisiana has the nation’s sixth-lowest gas prices, its was pulled down by high insurance rates and a tough legal climate.
Source: Forbes

$4,679,828,000
Total deposits held by FDIC insured institutions in Lafayette Parish as of June 30, 2010 Source: FDIC

2020
Year Louisiana’s pension fund may run out of money; in the following year it will have a $4.3 billion bill. That means 27% of state revenue will be needed to fill the pension hole every year.

6
La.’s ranking on a list of 11 pension funds most in trouble; Illinois is first (it runs out in 8 years), followed by Connecticut, Indiana, New Jersey and Hawaii.  Source: Business Insider

By the Numbers September/October 2010

1
Louisiana FastStart’s ranking among the country’s best workforce programs. Business Facilities magazine called it the “gold standard for workforce training solutions” in its August 2010 issue. Louisiana FastStart provides free customized recruitment, screening and training to companies expanding in or relocating to Louisiana. Louisiana also ranked eighth in national business climate.

14
Lafayette’s placing among The Daily Beast’s 20 “recession-proof cities” in the country. The online magazine’s list was based on growth in three categories over the past three years: overall employment, per capita personal income and metro area gross domestic product. Jacksonville, N.C., Fort Hood, Texas, and Fayetteville, N.C, were tops.

3
No. of consecutive years La. has experienced in-migrationU.S. Census

$52.7 million
Amount Jindal administration says it has invested in Lafayette Parish road improvements since January 2008: $43.9 million for the Ambassador Caffery Parkway extension, $3.7 million for the overlay of 6.1 miles of La. 1252, and $864,000 for the installation of high-mast lighting at the I-10/La. Avenue interchange.

107
No. of Lafayette Parish residents Gov. Bobby Jindal has appointed to serve on state boards and commissions since he took office in January 2008.

$93 million
Amount BP spent on advertising from April to the end of July, the oil giant told the House Energy and Commerce Committee Sept. 1. That’s $5 million a week, more than three times the amount it spent on ads over the same period last year. The company says the money was intended to keep Gulf Coast residents informed on issues related to the oil spill and to ensure transparency about its actions. The money was largely spent on TV, newspaper and magazine ads.

$3.4 billion
Estimated value of Nucor Corp.’s project in St. James Parish. The nation’s largest steelmaker, Nucor is planning a multi-phased iron and steel production complex in Convent that will eventually employ 1,250 workers (it hopes to be operating by the end of 2012 with 150 workers).

$75,000
Average pay of Nucor jobs — in a state with a median annual income of about $28,000.  The North Carolina steel maker is building a production complex in St. James Parish.

By the Numbers Aug/Sept 2010

2
Bonefish Grill’s ranking on Zagat’s list of the most popular full-service chain restaurants. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro is No. 1.

50
Louisiana’s ranking in Businessweek.com’s listing of laziest states. Using five years of data (2004 to 2008) from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the report, published in August, makes it clear that “lazy” doesn’t mean lacking work ethic or engagement, but is more a measure of sedentary leisure time versus exercising. The CDC’s research shows that nearly 30 percent of Bayou State residents do not get any exercise — and that our sedentary lifestyle coupled with our delicious food is taking its toll.

Fast Facts:
A 2008 Centers for Disease Control report noted that the overall fatality rate for workers in the oil and gas extraction industry was “approximately seven times the rate for all workers” between 2003 and 2006, with many deaths caused by accidents involving machinery and pipes and overexertion.

1,298
Number of accidents reported on rigs and platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, according to statistics from the Bureau of Ocean Energy (formerly the Minerals Management Service). There were also 30 deaths. The accident statistics are significantly higher than in the five years before 2006, when a new definition of “accident” went into effect. In the five years before 2006, MMS logged a total of 252 gulf accidents and 30 deaths.  Source: The Washington Post

10
Percent of additional fourth graders who passed the LEAP test and were promoted to fifth grade after summer retesting. In the spring, 77 percent of fourth graders passed the test.

7
Percent of additional eighth graders who passed the LEAP test and were promoted to high school after summer retesting. In the spring, 74 percent of eighth graders passed the test. Source: LPSS

4
No. of spots LSU climbed on U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges 2011” ranking. At 124, the university is in a five-way tie in the “Best National Universities” category, the top tier that includes 197 schools. Harvard, Princeton and Yale earned the top spots, respectively. Tulane, which landed the 51st spot, ranks highest in the state, and UL Lafayette is listed among the second tier of the Best National Universities — though these universities are not ranked. In the “Best Black Colleges” category, Xavier and Dillard ranked sixth and ninth, respectively. The rankings group schools based on categories created by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

By the Numbers July/August 2010

$2.7 billion
Economic cost of six-month moratorium on deepwater offshore drilling activity nationwide

$2.1 billion
Economic cost of moratorium on Gulf communities (along with the loss of 8,000 jobs)
Source: LSU banking prof/economist
Joseph R. Mason’s “The Economic Cost of a Moratorium on Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration to the Gulf Region”

$7.3 million
Amount of federal tax liens against Phil Mazzella Jr., who pleaded guilty to federal gambling charges in 2006 after being accused of leading a multimillion-dollar sports book-making operation in Milton. Mazzella was one of five people charged in a case dubbed “Operation Player’s Paradise” by state police. The investigation also targeted former Vermilion Parish Police Juror Ernal J. Broussard, who five years ago was sentenced to two years probation on charges of “aiding and abetting” the illegal gambling operation. This year Broussard tried to run for the Abbeville City Council — until the Louisiana Supreme Court made it clear convicted felons have to wait 15 years after completing their sentence before running for office.
Source: Legal News, 7-6-2010

$185,608
Amount of Rapid Response grant from the National Science Foundation to help two UL Lafayette biology professors, Drs. Darryl Felder and Suzanne Fredericq, determine the impact of the BP oil spill and dispersants on the Gulf of Mexico’s ecosystem. They will lead two expeditions in the Gulf to revisit banks and pinnacles where offshore seaweeds and macrocrustaceans have previously been documented.

44
Louisiana’s ranking in CNBC’s survey of the top states for business. The survey ranks states in 10 categories, among which are economy, workforce, transportation, education and technology/innovation, and this is the second year Louisiana finishes 44th. Louisiana ran in the middle of the pack in several categories but was dragged down by its 50th place finish in quality of life, which includes local attractions, crime rate and health care.  

15
Number of metro areas across the country, including Lafayette and Baton Rouge, with 12 small business bankruptcies or less during the first quarter of 2010. Among other southern metros were Gainsville and Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, Fla.; Amarillo and Lubbock, Texas; and Columbus, Ga.-Ala. The most small business bankruptcies in the first quarter were in California.
Source: Equifax