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“With Labor Day right around the corner, it seems only appropriate to reflect on our progress in bringing good jobs and higher wages to working families in Indianapolis,” Mayor Hogsett said. “The strategic economic development efforts of our city are encouraging more employers to move, grow and hire here in Marion County.”
Develop Indy reported 21 successful projects from January through July 2016, accounting for 1,450 new jobs and 1,400 retained positions at wages above the county average.
Additional projects bringing more than 1,000 new jobs – including the downtown expansion of tech giant Salesforce – have been negotiated but not included in these totals, as public incentives await final approval. More than a third of this year’s new jobs are in technology, while roughly half of total job creation and retention is in advanced manufacturing and logistics.
“Indianapolis is seeing a high-tech boom to go along with our manufacturing and logistics strength,” said Huber. “The same trend is shaping the downtown skyline, as Salesforce puts its name on our tallest office tower just a few blocks from the nearly-completed Cummins global distribution headquarters. Major announcements from companies like Torchlite Technologies and Sigstr this summer added to the tech momentum.”
Indy’s overall economy is also on the upswing: Marion County unemployment has dropped nearly two percent over the last two years, below the U.S. rate. National media like Forbes and Fast Company have hailed the city as an emerging tech hot spot, while the Brookings Institution recently ranked the metro area as a national leader in job growth in advanced industries like the life sciences, manufacturing, technology and energy.
“Develop Indy and Indy Partnership are making the case for Indianapolis as our business attraction sales team,” explained Huber. “But beyond our pipeline of corporate recruitment and expansion projects, it’s critical that the public and private sectors work together to build a strong business climate, a skilled workforce, and a vibrant quality of life to support the companies in our own backyards that create 80% of our region’s jobs.”
Mayor Hogsett emphasized that his administration’s agenda for public safety and neighborhood redevelopment would play a vital role this broader vision for economic development.
“There’s a reason why 90% of all job creation since the recession has happened in the nation’s hundred biggest cities – people want to live and do business in dynamic places with strong neighborhoods and vibrant cultural offerings,” he said. “Indianapolis is one of those places. But to give employers the confidence to keep investing in our city, we must focus on making our streets safer and building up new and burgeoning neighborhoods.”
Other major employment and investment projects in 2016 have included Schlage Von Duprin and Sun King Brewing in manufacturing; Solstice Medical in the life sciences; FitzMark and Transport America in distribution logistics; additional tech growth by firms like Brite Systems, AchronSafe, and Site Strategics; and service-oriented employers like Sallie Mae.
In thanking these and other companies for their commitments to Indianapolis, Mayor Hogsett noted that recent successes show a city with a diverse, vibrant economy.
“We’re a technology hub and a logistics crossroads, a great place to manufacture everything from jet engines and auto parts to lifesaving medicines,” he finished. “Our economic game plan is just as diverse – recruiting companies to our city, creating an environment where homegrown businesses thrive, and encouraging entrepreneurs to pursue their ambitions here.”
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