Fort Wayne, Ind., (April 1, 2010 )- The Northeast Indiana Foundation reported recently that the region marked progress in 2009 by attracting 17 new companies with more than 1,000 jobs and 137 expansions of existing business adding more than 3,000 jobs to the area’s workforce.
According to the annual business dynamics survey, the 10-county region saw significant progress from the previous year, reporting $384.4 million investment in space and equipment for the northeast corner of the state. Like the entire country, the region did see a fair amount of closings, downsizings and layoffs as well. However, call-backs brought work back to the region with 5,628 reported jobs recalled from layoffs in 12 call-backs, which we’ve newly tracked this year in the survey.
“The last couple of years have not been easy. However, by focusing our efforts on core strengths and specific economic sectors, the region’s local economic developers were able to retain existing and attract new companies to the area,” said John Sampson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, the region’s economic development organization.
The region is fueled by major economic engines including food processing, medical device, finance and insurance, warehousing and transportation, defense, and advanced manufacturing industries. Eighty-seven percent of the growth related to the region’s base economic output occurred in these six sectors within our survey. Advanced manufacturing made the biggest impact across all areas of focus.
Investments in education, such as the recently adopted New Tech high schools and Project Lead The Way, will aid in preparing the Northeast Indiana workforce for the jobs of the future. “By positioning residents of the region to support an advanced manufacturing economy — especially in the focused sectors of defense and medical device — we are able to retain, grow and attract businesses interested in those industries,” Sampson said.
The business dynamics survey prepared by The Community Research Institute (CRI) at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) is developed annually with cooperation from the local economic development organizations (LEDOs) in each of the 10 counties in Northeast Indiana. Tracking of companies is checked quarterly with each LEDO to ensure numbers are consistent and accurate. In 2010, collected data will also be checked on a quarterly basis with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC).
