As many local business leaders question the impact that COVID-19 is having on the Central Louisiana economy, the Louisiana State University of Alexandria’s College of Business responds with the creation of the CENLA Economic Dashboard.
“Knowing that all business and political leaders are searching for the economic status of our communities during this crisis, it was natural to call upon LSUA to help with such a critical project,” said R. Blake Chatelain, President and Chief Executive Officer of Red River Bank and Member-at-Large of the LSU Board of Supervisors.
Seeing the void in Central Louisiana, Chatelain contacted several community leaders including Dr. Paul Coreil, the LSUA Chancellor. Coreil, knowing a large part of LSUA’s mission is service to the region. He knew exactly where to turn to quickly develop this project.
Leading the charge was Dr. Randall Dupont, Chair and Professor of the College of Business. Having completed similar reports at other institutions, his expertise was necessary. Dupont immediately went to work and began compiling data from multiple sources including Google, the US Census, the Louisiana Workforce Commission, etc.
“Our goal is help business and community leaders monitor the economic pulse of central Louisiana,” Dupont said. “With current and relevant information they can better meet the needs of the changing business environment.”
According to Dupont, the data exemplifies that Rapides Parish is doing what it needs to do right now. However, because of the lag in data availability, the full economic impact of COVID-19 in March and April will be more apparent in the coming weeks.
Knowing that this is such a critical need for Central Louisiana, Dupont plans to release the report twice a month. “Uncertain times call for more frequent updates. In this way, our leaders can more readily gauge the business climate and respond quicker,” he continued.
Pleased with the opportunity to provide a service to the community who has so graciously invested in the LSUA College of Business, Dupont hopes to release the next report with updated indicators next week.
Click here, to view the April 13th report.