The Lafayette area is expected to gain over 4,000 jobs over the next two years, but that number could fluctuate depending on who wins the presidential election next month, an economist said. 

The area has recovered all its jobs lost during the COVID-19 shutdown and is expected to grow its employment base by 1.3% by 2026, retired LSU economist Loren Scott said during his annual presentation Wednesday hosted by One Acadiana.

The Lafayette MSA, the state’s second-most oil dominant area and the third-largest MSA by employment, has diversified its economy in recent years but still has 5.2% of its people — three times the state average — working for oil and gas extraction and support activity companies.

Weak drilling activity in the Gulf of Mexico has kept the area some 16,000 jobs below its peak level in 2014. The most recent rig count in the Gulf of Mexico was 22, nearly a third of what it was back in 2014.

The Biden administration, Scott noted, has reduced lease sales in the Gulf from two every year to one sale every other year. The hot spots for offshore drilling currently are in areas near Brazil and Guyana and in the North Sea.

“From an economic standpoint, it is a stark choice for citizens of this region,” Scott wrote. “If you believe climate change is an existential threat to mankind, your vote should definitely go to (Kamala) Harris. Strictly for the Lafayette economy, (Donald) Trump is the better bet.”

Notes on the big employers in the area include:

• Acadian Companies, with 1,475 employees in the region and 5,250 companywide, is expected to grow those numbers by 5-10% by 2026. This despite challenges to find qualified workers.
• Stuller, the largest private, non-health care employer in Lafayette Parish, is expected to add another 50 employees to its current 1,500. The company, however, is running up against physical limitations at its present site on Verot School Road.
• LHC Group has shed about 100 jobs locally and 400 statewide after being purchased by UnitedHealth. It now employs 828 in Lafayette.
• CGI is at 750 jobs with 425 working downtown and 325 on commercial and state clients. The company, which will mark 10 years in Lafayette next month, currently has 79 openings for positions paying $75,000-$100,000.
• SafeSource Direct has “exploding employment numbers” and expects to be at 1,560 by the end of 2026. The company will break ground on a new $144 million nitrile plant facility that should start up in late 2026 and result in 101 new jobs.
• VieMed, which now employs 422, expects to add another 146 by 2026. It now has patients in all 50 states.