WORK
INDUSTRIES
Health Care
Northwest Louisiana serves as a medical hub for the northern half of the state, east Texas, and southern Arkansas. Collectively, this local industry employs more than 25,000 professionals, making access to health care in the region not just a clear advantage for residents but also positioning the industry as one of the region’s top economic drivers.
Major regional hospitals such as CHRISTUS Health Shreveport-Bossier, Ochsner LSU Health, and Willis-Knighton Health System offer a wide variety of services. Facilities such as Shriners Hospital for Children and Feist-Weiller Cancer Center fill critical, specialized healthcare needs. In addition, LSU Health Sciences Center Shreveport serves along these facilities as an anchor point in the state for health care research and medical school education.
See the Health Care page for more Information
Defense
The defense sector in Northwest Louisiana, led by the presence of Barksdale Airforce Base, is one of the region’s most important and visible economic assets. Barksdale alone employs more than 10,000 people and serves as one of the nation’s most strategic military installations.
In addition, the 3,000-acre National Cyber Research Park and its Cyber Innovation Center (CIC) support the sector by building a knowledge based-economy and developing programs like Cyber Discovery Model. The program received a $2.35 million grant award from the United States Department of Homeland Security.
Biotech and Sciences
The presence of Louisiana State University’s Health Sciences Center, Louisiana Tech University, and University of Louisiana at Monroe College of Pharmacy and the Biomedical Research Foundation form the foundation of Northwest Louisiana’s biotech and life sciences sector.
Companies such as Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories and Red River Pharmacy are just a sample of the employers that have seen tremendous success in a rapidly growing industry.
Port of Caddo Bossier
A global, multimodal hub, Northwest Louisiana is in prime position to move goods across the country and around the world.
Advanced Manufacturing
Northwest Louisiana boasts an advanced, competitive manufacturing industry, in part due to the logistical advantages its unique location offers. Low land costs, multimodal transportation, access to several interstate routes, and a regional airport active in international trade and commerce all offer companies a variety of advantages.
A vibrant industrial park adjacent to the Shreveport Regional Airport and development-ready sites located at the Port of Caddo-Bossier attract new companies to the area, allowing for the continual development of new investment opportunities across the region.
Digital Media and Software Development
The region’s digital media industry has grown into one of the country’s best-kept secrets. From Louisiana’s first major animation studio and winners of the 2012 Oscar for Best Animated Short Film – to Twin Engine Labs – a premier digital media and smartphone app development firm – Northwest Louisiana has historically led the state as a hub for digital media.
Northwest Louisiana is also home to a rapidly growing software development industry. CSC, a global provider of next-generation IT services and solutions, broke ground in 2017 to establish a 116,000 square-foot technology center and employ a workforce of more than 800 individuals at the National Cyber Security Research Center in Bossier City – one of the largest technology projects in Louisiana’s history.
Energy
Louisiana is a state that is universally known as one of the country’s strongest assets for oil and gas production; the state sits on immeasurable amounts of natural gas reserves that further solidify Louisiana’s place within the energy industry.
The Haynesville Shale, a natural gas field located in Northwest Louisiana and a key catalyst behind billions of dollars of investments and thousands of jobs, is just one example of the crucial role the region plays in serving the energy needs of the nation.
Film
Northwest Louisiana’s film industry has put the region on the map in a major way. A diverse talent and resource base coupled with some of the country’s most competitive tax incentives for film and digital media have propelled the Shreveport-Bossier area into the forefront of consideration for film production. Big-budget productions and a veritable who’s who of A-list actors that consistently choose Northwest Louisiana have quickly become the norm thanks to the many resources the region has to offer.