MS port’s new jobs’ report shortfall

The Port of Gulfport, Miss., has spent 10 years and $350.5 million in federal money on expansion, but so far has only documented 99 new jobs directly related to port operations although public reports show 425 have been created during West Pier renovation and expansion. The federal government supplied $570 million for the project after Hurricane Katrina requiring the port to create 1,300 new jobs in 2021, three years after construction is completed. The Mississippi Development Authority is counting new casino jobs in reports to the federal government. Port officials are using that number as a talking point in public presentations. Casino jobs created by port tenant Island View Casino Resort don’t count toward the government’s required total. The Sun Herald newspaper requested a breakdown of those jobs from MDA. The report shows 326 new jobs are at Island View’s hotel on port property. The only port jobs in the 425 total are 92 new jobs at the Gulf Coast Shipyard Group, which moved into a building several years ago on the East Pier, and seven jobs in the Mississippi State Port Authority’s administrative offices. (Source: Sun Herald 02/02/17)