A new boom if data center attracted?

Figure 1 contains historical data on this MSA’s nonfarm employment from 1990 to 2025, along with our forecast for 2026-27. The past decade and a half have been tough for the region, with employment still below the previous record reached in 2009 during the Haynesville Shale boom. We are projecting the Shreveport-Bossier MSA will add 2,700 jobs (+1.6%) in 2026 and 3,000 jobs (+1.7%) in 2027. This would be the fifth largest absolute growth rate among the state’s 10 MSAs, and #6 in terms of percentage growth.

Whispers abound that this MSA is poised for a new data center announcement. Attraction of just one data center to this MSA could make our forecasts ridiculously pessimistic. Instead of the projections in Figure 29, we would expect a boom similar to the one the region experienced in 2005-08 during the early days of the Haynesville Shale development.

Shreveport-Bossier was like a gold mining town in the gold rush days. A $10 billion data center can have that kind of transformative impact.

This region is actually developing a critical mass of companies to support a data center. First, there is the Haynesville Shale, which houses the natural gas for generating the humongous electricity demand from a data center. We are expecting a resurgence in the Haynesville to provide the natural gas to the booming LNG export market in South Louisiana. Just outside the MSA in Webster Parish is Fibrebond, a company that builds blast-resistant modules containing power units.

A spin-off of Fibrebond, Module X, builds similar boxes. LB, at the old GM plant, manufactures the cooling systems and racking for these centers, while Gordon Inc. specializes in inside finishes. These local sources, combined with a lot of available land, should make the MSA particularly attractive to data centers.

Several key players in this market are outperforming expectations.

Two thousand forty-seven people are working at the various companies at the Port of Caddo-Bossier, a number projected to grow to 2,189 by 2027. There are $66.1 million in capital expansion projects planned among these companies over the next two years. The Amazon Fulfillment Center was initially thought to cost $200 million and employ 1,300.

SLB produces and tests components for customers to support their digital infrastructure. An estimated $18.5 million was spent to renovate the site in the old GM facility, and initial employment was 400. It is now 800 employees. SLB has plenty of space to expand (only 2 million square feet of the 3.3 million available are in use), and given the explosion in data centers and LNG facilities, we expect SLB will be growing even more over 2026-27. This has been a banner period for the Cyber Research Park in Bossier City. Employment has risen from 1,854 in 2024 to 2,102 this year, and projections are for the workforce to jump to 2,885 by 2027. If the Park lands Project T, that will add 750 jobs to the site and require a $40 million building and $15 million in land acquisition fees.

Barksdale’s new $210 million weapons generation facility should be completed after the first of the year. This new complex has five new buildings and a renovated building on 28 acres within the Base.

Just over 100 new jobs will accompany the new complex, which consolidates weapons maintenance, training and storage. This MSA is home to five large riverboat casinos and the newly opened, onshore Live! Casino, plus the Harrah’s Racetrack. Altogether, these gaming establishments employed 3,642 people in 2025-QI.

Movement of Live! Casino on shore reversed a downward trend in gross casino revenues that had been occurring in this region since 2014.

Over 2026-27, the Shreveport-Bossier MSA will pick up $190.9 million in new state road lettings. In addition, construction is underway on the new $362 million Jimmy Davis Bridge. Finally, fall enrollment at LSU-S is up 132% since the fall of 2016, while most other regional colleges in Louisiana have suffered significant reductions and major financial problems over that same time period. By the way, who the heck goes 59-0?

Dr. Loren C. Scott is former chair of economics at Louisiana State University. His firm, Loren C. Scott & Associates, has provided economic consulting for 42 years of clients from a wide range of industries.