Though businesses are beginning to reopen in New Orleans following the total closure of the city after Hurricane Katrina, employees have yet to return. The city currently faces a massive staffing crisis, as most workers formerly residing in the city are now scattered throughout the Gulf Coast region. Some positions are being filled by people from other states looking for new job opportunities in construction or service industries.
See "Its Work Force Scattered, New Orleans Wrestles With Job Crisis", Christine Hauser, The New York Times, October 25, 2005