Gulf Coast Business Council

The Gulf Coast Business Council contracted The University of Southern Mississippi Trent Lott Center to produce a quarterly reports that capture the health of the coastal economy. Trend data was reported over a period of 10 years. The Gulf Coast Business Council serves Mississippi’s three coastal counties of Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson and has a population of 392,860. Within the three coastal counties, there are 12 different municipalities that include: Bay St. Louis, Biloxi, D’Iberville, Diamondhead, Gautier, Gulfport, Long Beach, Moss Point, Ocean Springs, Pascagoula, Pass Christian, and Waveland. Further, the Metropolitan Statistical Areas of New Orleans and Baton Rouge, LA, and Mobile, AL, were identified as comparison regions for the Gulf Coast Region. The Jackson MSA was also used so to include an in-state comparison. These comparison areas were used in charts where statistics such as employment, unemployment and wages were reviewed.