According to a report in the Washington Post, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal was told by company officials that the U.S. Navy shipyard could be closing because Northrop lacks orders beyond 2012. Jindal responded in a statement by saying the state would seek possible buyers and tenants to replace Northrop.

A spokesman for Northrop, the third-largest U.S. defense contractor, told the Post the Navy’s future shipbuilding plan “requires a smaller industrial base.”

Northrop has operated the Louisiana shipyard since acquiring it from Litton Industries Inc. in 2000.

At the time, the Cassandra like predictions seemed high.  Based on a Huffington Post report released today, those initial figures smack of understatement.  The Louisiana Oil and Gas Association is now estimating that as many as 75,000 jobs are at stake in the Gulf region and those figures, like the original ones, do not take into consideration all the jobs that are reliant on or support the drilling industry.  The Gulf economy is rapidly circling the drain and, like the hole that started this whole mess, the sink seems unpluggable.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has published the following construction job declines for the period of the recession: Arizona 53.2%, Nevada 52.3%, and Florida at 48.6%.

Across the board, no state has had an increase in the number of construction jobs, and 20% have lost at least a third.

By total volume, California leads the pack with 363,600 fewer construction jobs as compared to their peak.

North Dakota and Louisiana have suffered the smallest declines, with 6.1% and 8.2% corresponding losses.

“In order to remain competitive, we must continually review all of our operations and look for ways to improve our cost structure and our ability to respond quickly to customer’s needs.”

Dresser Inc. has its national headquarters in Addison Texas. The company provides a diverse range of technology, products and services used in the energy and natural resources industries.

Innovative Emergency Management is a risk management company founded in 1985. IEM has eight offices strategically located around the United States. Their areas of specialty include homeland security and emergency management, information technology, defense support, and program integration support. Clients include local, federal and foreign government agencies.

The state will contribute up to $37 million, luring the company away from sites in Mississippi and North Carolina.

The plant will open in Fall of 2010, and fully ramp up operations by 2014. The jobs will average $35,000 with benefits.

Founded in 1950, ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston sells potato products in over 100 different countries on all seven continents. They operate over a dozen plants worldwide, with a workforce of over 6,000.

The new hiring will be complete in early August. JPMorgan is northeastern Louisiana’s second-largest private employer.

The firm will employ 2,100 people in Ouachita Parish.

New York City’s JPMorgan Chase is one of the oldest financial services firms in the world. It is a leader in financial services with assets of $2.3 trillion, and the largest market capitalization and deposit base of any US banking institution.

The new firm is called CenturyLink, and employs 20,000 employees in 33 states. It will be headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana. CenturyTel purchased Embarq for $11.6 billion.

Fewer than 30 jobs will be cut in July, but further, larger rounds of layoffs are expected.

Overland Park, Kansas-based Embarq Corporation is the fourth largest local exchange carrier in the United States, and the largest independent local provider, serving customers in 18 states and providing local, long distance, high-speed data and wireless services to residential and business customers. It was formerly the local telephone division of Sprint.

Founded in 1930, CenturyTel is a telecommunications firm headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana. A member of the S&P 500 index, the company primarily operates as a local exchange carrier and Internet service provider in rural markets in 26 states, and is the eighth-largest local exchange carrier in the US in terms of lines served.

The subsidiary of Ergon will lay off workers at its refining plant and ethanol plant as projects are completed.

Ergon is based in Jackson, Mississippi. It includes operations as a refiner, transporter, producer, distributor and marketer of petroleum products. Their manufactured products group manufactures and markets various products ranging from computer boards and systems to road maintenance products and equipment. Ergon owns the Vicksburg Refinery and also 500 wells, mostly in Louisiana and in East Texas.

The stimulus funds amount $1.7 million dollars. Most of the money will be spent this summer on the youth jobs program, and the remainder over the next couple of years.

Baton Rouge is the capital city and the second largest city of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish which contains 428,000 residents. The Greater Baton Rouge population is approximately 774,327.