LAKE CHARLES - Industry leaders and state officials say times are tough in the oil and gas patch with low commodity prices and a troubled state budget only complicate the path toward recovery.

During the Louisiana Oil & Gas Association's annual meeting Thursday in Lake Charles, the American Press reports (http://bit.ly/1eOXZNb ) Gov. John Bel Edwards discussed the state's budget as well as the details surrounding what many consider to be the industry's worst downturn since the 1980s.

Edwards said he couldn't promise the industry was going to get better in the short term. Over the last year, Louisiana has lost 10,000 jobs in the oil and gas industry.

Edwards also focused on the state's budget shortfall, which in the current fiscal year is at $700 million.

He said state leaders must chart a new course forward.