ExxonMobil contributed $84.4 million in East Baton Rouge Parish taxes, $144 million in state taxes l

LSU economist Loren Scott likened ExxonMobil to a rock, which if dropped into the great pond of the state's economy, creates a ripple effect that could be felt far away in multiple areas.

He used this analogy to illustrate the effect ExxonMobil has made on Louisiana's economy in 2013 in a presentation to several elected officials and industry players Tuesday (Aug. 26).

"It's a big rock. It's a boulder being dropped into the economy," Scott said.

ExxonMobil commissions the economic impact study from Scott every three years, and this year's study included all four plants in the Baton Rouge area, and the Port Allen lubricants plant.

In 2013, ExxonMobil spent nearly $3.5 billion in sales at parish firms and contributed $144 million in taxes to the state, and $84.4 million in sales and property taxes to East Baton Rouge Parish alone, making it the state's largest tax contributor. The figure is about four times more than the second-highest tax contributor in the area, Entergy, and nearly eight percent of total parish property taxes collected.

By the employment numbers, in 2013, ExxonMobil employed 5,938 plant workers and contractors, making the company the largest manufacturing employer in Louisiana. Employees and contractors made $463.3 million in payroll for the year, with an average wage of $76,844.

Scott's figures show ExxonMobil indirectly created more than 33,000 jobs in the state over the last three years, as well.

ExxonMobil's four facilities in East Baton Rouge Parish made a large impact by themselves. The company contributed about seven percent of the parish wage and salary earnings, or about $1.2 billion in household earnings. That's spread out across 24,932 jobs in the parish that were either directly or indirectly connected to the company, or one out of every eight jobs in the parish.

"Every time a new job is created at one of these facilities, there's about 2.8 more created," Scott said.

As a result of the Lubrication plant in Port Allen, 407 employees made about $15.1 million in earnings. The company contributed about $3.1 million in West Baton Rouge Parish property taxes, or about 8.7 percent of all property taxes collected.