GNO, Inc. Releases 2020 Greater New Orleans Jobs Report
Today, Greater New Orleans, Inc. (GNO, Inc.) and Bank of America released the 2020 Greater New Orleans Jobs Report. In 2019, GNO, Inc. published the first Greater New Orleans Jobs Report as a comprehensive analysis of the jobs that will drive the region’s economy over the next decade. The 2020 Jobs Report takes a new, more deliberate approach in identifying workforce opportunities accelerated by COVID-19 and the future of industry.
“We are excited to continue our partnership with Bank of America to release the 2020 Jobs Report,” said Michael Hecht, President and CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc. “As we emphasized during our recent Annual Meeting, COVID-19 has underscored economic trends that play to our region’s natural strengths. If we are smart and make the right investments today, we can exit from this crisis with a more diverse and prosperous economy for tomorrow and a more resilient workforce.”
For the past two years, Bank of America has invested in the Greater New Orleans Jobs Report as a testament to their commitment in ensuring workforce development is a priority for Bank of America and its clients.
“Workforce development continues to be a priority for Bank of America and our clients. We are proud to have a leadership role with the Greater New Orleans Jobs Report, supporting GNO, Inc. as it tackles important tasks – including addressing talent development and other issues to help enhance resiliency,” said Jonathan Matessino, Senior Vice President of Global Commercial Banking, Bank of America.
The global economy is undergoing a rapid transformation as a result of the coronavirus, and the same is true in the Greater New Orleans region where more than 312,000 jobs, or 46% of regional jobs, are considered at risk. The Jobs Report analyzes the occupations identified to be most at risk due to the pandemic, and how to prepare and position the region’s workforce for the post-coronavirus economy.
As a follow-up to the inaugural report, the 2020 Jobs Report provides data that aims to inform workforce development investments, policies, and programming in Greater New Orleans.
Key findings include:
- In Greater New Orleans, it is estimated that nearly half of all jobs are “at-risk” from the coronavirus. And, many of the jobs hardest hit by the pandemic are most likely to be lower-wage and lower-skilled.
- Over half of the jobs that are at risk in the GNO region are in occupations considered basic-skill, meaning they do not require any formal education. Meanwhile, only 4% of the at-risk jobs are considered high-skill, meaning a job associated with a bachelor’s degree or above.
- Even before the pandemic, many of the workers in at-risk occupations experienced lower levels of employment stability. In fact, while low-risk occupations experienced a 54% turnover rate in 2019, the high-risk occupations experienced a turnover rate of 87% in that same time.
- Many workers in the region have developed base skills that can translate to a number of different industries. However, in order to successfully transition, workers will need to “stack” their base skills with other industry-specific skills known as “gateway” skills.
- The region is equipped with a robust, diverse ecosystem of training and technical skills providers that offer employability skills and industry-driven training programs. Focus areas include youth programming, upskilling adult education, and professional executive courses.
- To ensure a strong and equitable recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, the Greater New Orleans region must place a strong emphasis on awareness of and access to education and training opportunities, for all.
As with the 2019 Jobs Report, these recommendations have been developed to inform government, education, economic development, workforce development, and private philanthropy’s programs and policies. Furthermore, GNO, Inc. will incorporate many recommendations into its signature programs—GNOu, StudyNOLA, GNOCareerguide, and the GNO Economic Mobility Plan.
Read the full report here.
