Professional Services

Although Terrebonne Parish has an established base of employers in the professional, business, and financial services, this industry group lags well behind other major sectors in the area. As with other targets, much of the region’s current professional workforce serves the Oil & Gas sector.

Terrebonne Parish has an opportunity to build upon its pool of managerial, professional, and clerical workers to grow its services economy. This includes companies that provide accounting, payroll, human resources, management, business support, and other related services to businesses located both inside and outside the region.

The Parish is an attractive location for these types of business-to-business services for several reasons, including proximity to New Orleans, a skilled workforce, quality of place resources, low property taxes, availability of training for all levels of professional workers, and an excellent general aviation airport. These advantages make the region attractive to businesses that offer services that can be provided remotely to a variety of customers around the country and the world. Demand for such operations is growing due to a continued movement towards outsourcing and rising corporate profits.

Terrebonne is also an appealing alternative location to Houston or New Orleans for regional offices for larger financial and professional services firms. Part of the Parish’s appeal is its accessibility to air travel—in addition to corporate and charter air service from Houma-Terrebonne Airport, Houma is approximately an hour’s drive from Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.

Rationales

  • Centrally located for regional and national markets
  • Access to major highways
  • Availability of general aviation service locally and commercial air passenger service at MSY Airport
  • Good broadband availability and speed
  • Reasonable availability of managerial personnel
  • Reasonable availability of skilled clerical workers
  • Availability of post-secondary vocational training
  • Within ½ hour of major university/college
  • Availability of M.B.A. program at Nicholls State
  • Reasonable availability of business and professional services
  • Availability of low-interest loans for small business
  • Low local property taxes
  • Growing population of residents in 25–34 age group
  • Opportunity to retain resident workers within the region (C)
  • Emerging Professional, Scientific & Technical Services sector (C)
  • Employment growth in Business & Financial Operations occupations
  • Local wages in related sectors about 20 percent below national average
  • Average target subsector national earnings of $103,786
  • Average target subsector 10-year past employment growth rate: 26.2%
  • Average target subsector 10-year forecast employment growth rate: 14.9%
  • An existing local pool of high-demand occupations
  • Quality of place assets: availability of all types of housing, low cost of living, cultural activity, recreational opportunities
 
 
 

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