Louisiana

BATON ROUGE, La. — Gov. Bobby Jindal said a recent survey shows residents are leaving Louisiana and it would be a mistake for state officials to blame Hurricane Katrina or any other storm for the migration.

The American Community Survey shows Louisiana’s population in 2007 was 4.29 million, down from 4.5 million in 2000.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 did force many residents to leave the state, but Jindal said the migration out of Louisiana goes back almost 15 years.

The reason people are leaving, Jindal said, is because of the lack of educational and economic opportunities in Louisiana. And Jindal claimed his administration is seeking to address the problem.

Officials said the Census Bureau numbers show that in the past 27 years, Louisiana has lost about 84 residents each day, or about four per hour.

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