Gulf Oil Spill May Cost 17,000 Jobs: Moody's - Bloomberg

20th Jul 2010 02:33

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES The BP PLC (BP) oil spill could cost the U.S. Gulf Coast region 17,000 jobs and about $1.2 billion in lost economic growth by year-end even if the flow is halted next month, Bloomberg News reported on its website Monday, citing Moody's Analytics. In a different scenario where the spill continues through December and President Barack Obama's six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling is extended, economic losses might reach $7.4 billion, and more than 100,000 jobs would be lost, Moody's said today in a report, according to Bloomberg. "We're talking about a very localized impact," Marisa Di Natale, a Moody's director who wrote the report, told the newspaper in a conference call after the release of the report. "We don't think there's going to be a major impact when we look at the national economy." She wrote that the moratorium alone could lead to more job losses than the spill's direct impact on Florida tourism, Bloomberg said. A separate study, commissioned by the American Energy Alliance, also said the moratorium is "crippling the local economy" and might cost the region 8,169 jobs and about $2.1 billion in economic losses in its first six months, according to Bloomberg. Full story: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-19/oil-spill-may-cost-u-s-gulf-coast-17-000-jobs-by-year-end-moody-s-says.html (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 19, 2010 21:33 ET (01:33 GMT)