BUSINESS REPORT: Indiana Employment is Getting Bigger, Faster

By Donna Clapp
From the January/February 2013 issue

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) announced in January that in 2012 it secured job commitments from 256 companies that project to create more than 27,620 new jobs, more than any other year on record.

According to the U.S. Labor Department, Indiana ranked second in the country for private sector jobs added in November and December 2012, and is fifth for job growth over the past year. Since the low point of employment in July 2009, Indiana’s private sector jobs growth (6.6 percent) has nearly doubled the nation (3.8 percent).

Driven by companies like Amazon, Toyota, Magnetation, Angie’s List, Sugar Creek Packing, Supreme Industries and Sweetwater Sound, Indiana welcomed commitments for 27,620 new jobs and $6.41 billion in capital investment in 2012. The new positions, phased in over the next five years, pay an expected average hourly wage of $21.77, higher than the state’s current average of $19.74. The average amount of state conditional tax incentives offered to companies on a per job basis was $8,689, down from around $37,000 in previous administrations. Under the IEDC, state incentives are activated only when new jobs actually occur.

Automotive-related manufacturing represented the largest sector for new jobs in 2012, with 7,180 new jobs projected. At 5,606 job commitments, the business services industry was second in new growth, followed by non-automotive manufacturing with 5,602 projected new jobs. Job commitments for other sectors include: logistics (2,388), food production (2,022), life sciences (1,606) and information technology (1,589).