Matt Vines
Communications Specialist, LSUS Public Relations
Louisiana State University Shreveport
SHREVEPORT – While different economic data and trends can paint all kinds of pictures, LSU Shreveport economist Doug White points to two local data points that signal local economic strength.
Casino revenue and travel.
The introduction of Live! Casino this past February brought questions of overall market expansion or market cannibalism as competing casinos sought to snatch or hold on to existing customers.
The answer in 2025 is market expansion as overall casino revenue climbed 12.1 percent to more than $607 million, including a nearly 16 percent increase in fourth-quarter revenue.
The Shreveport Regional Airport recorded its busiest year since 1980 with more 800,000 flying into or out of Shreveport, an ascent of 12 percent from 2024.
“You hear about the doom and gloom in the economy, but to see the growth in gambling and the record numbers at the airport, it means that people still have money to spend in those areas,” said White, an economics faculty member and director of LSUS’s Center for Business and Economic Research. “These two things are strength indicators in the economy, or at least signs that there isn’t weakness.
“It used to be that when oil prices are low like they are now (ended the fourth quarter at $59.62) and natural gas is only slightly better ($3.73), that used to be a real negative for our economy.”
The full fourth-quarter report can be found here.
White acknowledges that every population segment might not have this kind of discretionary income.
While inflation has stabilized around 2.7 percent annual growth, the rise of inflation rates since COVID-19 means that the increased cost of typical goods could leave many with less money in their pockets.
“There is truth in saying this is a ‘K-shaped economy,’” White said. “While top earners may be a little disgruntled about things like higher food prices, it doesn’t really affect them.
“But inflation to an earner who spends 50 percent of their income on housing, inflation is really serious. Maybe the spoils of the economy aren’t being felt the same across different income levels.”
But White believes that the local economy is headed in a generally positive direction, strengthening in the third and fourth quarters after showing signs of weakness in the first part of 2025.
Data like City of Shreveport tax collection (up 2.3 percent in 2025) and December unemployment rates (3.9 percent for Shreveport-Bossier metro area, 3.7 percent in Bossier Parish and 4.1 percent in Caddo Parish) support the positive direction.
“The data seems to be relatively positive, but there’s still a vibe that the economy isn’t doing well,” White said. “I don’t know if this is more of a national feeling or a local feeling.
“But during the inflation run up, food prices went way up, and those prices aren’t going back down. Until wages catch up with that, I think that feeling will linger, maybe through the rest of this year.”
White said he’ll keep an eye on the local housing market, which he says seems to have stalled with houses staying on the market longer.
Mortgage rates are coming down at a slow pace, and the spring is typically the busiest in the housing market.
Matt Vines
Communications Specialist, LSUS Public Relations
Louisiana State University Shreveport
matt.vines@lsus.edu
http://www.lsus.edu
