New Orleans, LA
Post-Katrina, the “Big Easy” has built an impressive hub for jobs, with the unemployment rate at just 5.5 percent in the New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner area and just 5.9 percent in the city itself. Private companies like Tulane University and Pan-American Life Insurance help keep the economy going, but it’s the city’s tourist appeal that really brings jobs. In 2010, New Orleans hosted 8.3 million visitors, the most since the flooding. And the recent return of three major cruise ships promises to keep business afloat. The city added 9,000 new jobs in 2011, and major retailers like Walmart and Costco are planning to open new locations there in 2012.
