Partner Spotlight: The Data Center and the New Orleans Index

During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, The Data Center developed the New Orleans Index to track storm recovery. Since then, the Index has expanded to cover a wide variety of indicators that chart long-term growth and progress in New Orleans. Indicators include job growth, employment, entrepreneurship, workforce development, incarceration, minority-owned businesses, and poverty. This article describes how the Index was developed and the ways it has been used to frame specific policy discussions about employment inequality in New Orleans.