County Sees Continuous Economic Growth
Article by Andy Barrand | KPC News | July 13, 2021
AUBURN — Economic growth continues to be on the upswing in DeKalb County and the state despite the pandemic’s persistence to remain present.
Companies big and small, industrial and startup, continue to expand as they fight the battle to find the needed workforce to fill their needs. DeKalb County saw a 3.3% unemployment rate as of June 30. That figure is slightly lower than the state’s 4% unemployment rate.
Anton King, executive director for the DeKalb County Economic Development Partnership, Inc., said the county and region continue to recruit the talent needed in all scopes to meet the needs of employers within the county.
“We are excited about the future, I am excited to see what it (DeKalb County) looks like in five to 10 years,” he said.
When most counties and states were seeing an economic downturn, DeKalb County saw a vast contrast.
King said local business and industry invested $145 million in 2020, nearly five times of what was invested in 2019.
He said he believes the pandemic allowed industries to hit the pause button and rethink their investments.
“It was the Midwest’s time to shine,” King said. “DeKalb County was the fortunate benefactor.” He said that growth continues in 2021.
“We see no signs of slowing down,” King said.
To keep track of the economic comeback within the state, the Indiana Chamber has developed a new economic recovery dashboard at indianachamber.com/indiana-economic-recovery-dashboard.
The dashboard keeps track of key metrics within the state including: unemployment rate, labor force participation, average weekly earnings, total wages (quarter by quarter), personal income adjustment, state GDP and COVID-19 vaccination rate.
According to the dashboard Indiana’s workforce participation at 63% is higher than neighboring states and the national average.
“As our lives are returning to normal, it’s also time to again focus on Indiana’s place as an economic leader in the midwest and beyond,” said Kevin Brinegar, Indiana Chamber president and CEO. “The rest of this year will be especially critical to set the tone for recovery.”
Brinegar said the state’s ultimate goal is to build on past successes and aggressively pursue actions throughout the next six to 12 months to drive Indiana’s performance as high as possible in the key metrics.
The dashboard will be updated on a monthly basis and is part of the Accelerating Indiana Vision 2025+.
Article source: https://www.kpcnews.com/thestar/article_8464268c-40fd-54a3-be4e-0f1139ad080a.html