Mayor Hogsett, Develop Indy Report that Indianapolis’ High Tech Hot Streak Continues, As New Job Commitments Jump 45% in 2017

The city’s economic development agency details 86 successful projects in 2017, creating 6,600 new jobs and $1.3B+ in capital investment; half of all new jobs in IT

(INDIANAPOLIS, December 20, 2017) Mayor Joe Hogsett and the City of Indianapolis’ economic development agency, Develop Indy, reported preliminary business attraction and retention results for 2017 today, confirming the city’s continued appeal to high-tech employers.  As of December 20th, Develop Indy had pursued 86 successful relocation and expansion projects leading to 6,613 new jobs and $1.37 billion in new investment, with more than half of these job commitments coming from the booming Information Technology (IT) sector.

The City of Indianapolis, in partnership with Develop Indy – a division of the Indy Chamber – helped to attract or retain more than 11,000 local jobs, as Marion County’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.5% according to the State of Indiana’s public data portal - nearly a half-point lower than November ’16 - and the city earned additional accolades as a top tech destination from the Brookings Institution, Forbes, Money Magazine, Fast Company and more.

The decision by India-based tech giant InfoSys to create a 2,000 employee innovation hub in Indianapolis gave an early boost to IT job creation numbers (reinforcing the region’s position as a leading metro for investment and employment by foreign-owned businesses).  Other notable technology wins included expansions by SEO platform provider Viral Launch (250 new jobs) and risk management software firm My COI (185 new jobs).

“Indy’s competitive business climate and quality of life keeps winning over high-tech employers who want to be part of our dynamic, thriving city,” said Mayor Joe Hogsett.  “The IT jobs we gained this year pay almost $10 an hour more than the average wage – that’s one reason Indianapolis is outpacing the rest of Indiana and the U.S. in income growth.  We’re focused on keeping these numbers moving in the right direction.”

The professional services sector also buoyed Marion County’s business attraction and retention totals, with 25 projects contributing more than 1,200 new job commitments (and 1,900 retained positions) as firms like the Morales Group, GEMCO, Office360 and more chose Indy as their best environment to expand and succeed.

Advanced manufacturers also continue to add jobs and make new investments in Indianapolis, as thirteen manufacturing projects accounted for more than 2,400 new and retained jobs this year.  A major investment by Eli Lilly & Company (approaching $100M or more) also spans life sciences and advanced manufacturing.

“These numbers confirm that Indianapolis is a great place to do business, and a leading hub of advanced industry innovation – whether it’s developing new software or manufacturing life-saving medicines,” added Indy Chamber Vice-President Ian Nicolini, who leads Develop Indy.  “We aggressively ‘sell’ Indianapolis, but ultimately every company involved in these 86 projects did their own analysis, and chose Indy as a city where they can invest with confidence, recruit a strong workforce and be part of a vibrant business community.”

Nicolini noted that Develop Indy will continue its “full court press” in the waning weeks of 2017; he sees no sign of a slowdown to Marion County’s economic momentum looking ahead to 2018.

“After Salesforce unveiled their massive investment in downtown Indianapolis in 2016, we knew it could be a tough act to follow this year – but our attraction and retention numbers have stayed consistent or improved across the board,” he said.  “The Indy Chamber advocacy team is pursuing new tools at the Statehouse to help us grow – like exempting software sales from state taxes – and we continue to work closely with higher education and partners like EmployIndy to make sure our supply of skilled talent matches employer demand.  We’ll look back on 2017 as a great year…but we believe 2018 can be even better.”