Unemployment for December 2013:
Surrounding states
Illinois: 8.6 percent
Kentucky: 8.0
Michigan: 8.4
Ohio: 7.2
Source: Indiana Department of Workforce Development
• A recent study by Michael Hicks, a Ball State professor and director of Center for Business and Economic Research, said the state’s economy is encouraging to businesses.
• The study said one in 11 jobs created nationally were created in Indiana.
• James Mitchell, Career Center associate director, said many Ball State students stay in Indiana after graduating.
Indiana’s unemployment is higher than the national average, but several factors are leading to a better job market.
A Ball State economist said one in 11 jobs nationwide are created in Indiana. But the state unemployment rate is at its lowest point since October 2008, according to data from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
Michael Hicks, a Ball State professor and director of Center for Business and Economic Research, said the state’s economy is encouraging to businesses.
“Between 2009 and 2012, I attribute [the decrease in unemployment] to rebound from recession, which really clobbered manufacturing,” he said. “Since then the favorable business climate in Indiana has to be playing a role in recovery.”
According to the state’s DWD, Indiana created 42,600 new jobs in 2013 and boasts more individuals returning to the workforce, a sign of economic health.
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation tried to capitalize on Indiana’s job creation success by advertising around 2012’s Super Bowl to attract companies from New York to Indiana.
The campaign ran digital advertisements near MetLife Stadium for two weeks before the game, spending $20,000, according to The Indianapolis Star.
“No little-town blues here, just a AAA credit rating, budget surplus and lower taxes,” ads said.
James Mitchell, Career Center associate director, said many students stay in Indiana after graduation. Students using Career Center internship searches typically rank Indiana as their main geographic preference and the Midwest as their second.
“I think there are a large number of our students who come from Indiana and who would like to stay in Indiana,” he said.
The “brain drain” — earning degrees in one state and leaving for another state after graduation — is a real concern, he said, but one that is being fought.
“There are a variety of initiatives trying to recruit and keep new talent here in Indiana,” Mitchell said.
About 100,000 graduates, more than 50 percent of alumni, are Indiana residents, according to data from the Alumni Center. Other states with large alumni populations include Ohio, Florida and Illinois, with around 5,000 alumni each.
Delaware County does not share the same economic growth as other parts of the state. According to DWD, at 7 percent, it scored the 25th highest unemployment rate out of Indiana’s 92 counties. Muncie’s unemployment rate is 7.3 percent.
Hicks attributed the difference in employment numbers to a lack of education.
“Educational attainment in Delaware County is poorer than the state or the nation as a whole,” he said.
“As a consequence, they are more likely to suffer higher levels of unemployment because we have a less educated workforce here.”
Delaware County has the third-highest percentage of Ball State alumni, around 11,000 people. Marion and Hamilton counties have higher alumni populations.
Mitchell said most graduates that stay in Delaware County do so for Ball State or IU Health jobs.
“There are a good number of people who have Ball State degrees,” he said. “There are people that stay here but it’s for very specific, niche areas like Ball State.”
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