Pass Christian, Miss., Is Bustling, Despite Economy, Hurricane

Despite Hurricane Katrina and weak economy, Pass Christian, Miss., is bustling.

ByABC News via logo
May 6, 2009, 6:10 PM

May 7, 2009 — -- Neither the fury of Hurricane Katrina nor the stifling recession has permanently crippled the small town of Pass Christian, Miss.

The city, which is the hometown of "Good Morning America" anchor Robin Roberts, is riding out the poor economy.

Indeed, the Gulf Coast region that Katrina ravaged has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation. While the United States struggles through its highest unemployment level in 25 years, the Katrina Zone is bustling.

Houma, La., for instance, has the lowest unemployment rate in the nation, at 3.6 percent, and the continually rebuilding New Orleans; is at 5.3 percent.

Harrison County, where Pass Christian is located, has an unemployment rate of 7.9 percent. "Grant money is starting to show up now as a result of Katrina but, nonetheless, with the economy slowing down, that's been a big boost to us," Pass Christian Mayor Chipper McDermot said.

Experts call the boost the Katrina effect. The rebuilding effort brings in a steady stream of construction jobs and lures new companies into the region.

But there's more to the Gulf Coast survival than the Katrina effect

"The industries here have been pretty steady; you've heard people say, 'We didn't have a boom, so we didn't have a bust,'" said Peter Ricchiuti of Tulane University's Freeman School of Business.

Once-thriving sectors like finance and housing that threw many Americans out of work never had as far to fall in this area.

And Southern-based foreign auto manufacturers, like the Nissan plant in Mississippi, have avoided the large-scale layoffs like the Big Three in Detroit.

And then there's tourism.

Gaming at casinos dropped 23 percent in Las Vegas in February but increased 1.4 percent in Louisiana.

And area residents can expect to see $2.5 billion in stimulus money in the next two years.

But Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said his state is still susceptible. "We're not immune to what's going on in the national economy," Barbour said on "Good Morning America" today.

He cited the state's recent decrease in revenue and some job losses.

Barbour added that his state is affected less by things like real estate, which has devastated places like California and Florida.

Still, Tulane's assistant dean Ricchiuti said, "I think that if the [national] economy doesn't start to change between now and 2009, the economy here will start to fray as well."