Ball State Expert Predicts Good Things For Indiana Economy In 2020

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INDIANA –  The economy for the state of Indiana should be good in 2020 despite recent manufacturing job losses. That’s the claim from Ball State University economist Mike Hicks.

He tells Inside Indiana Business there is little to no evidence of a pending recession.

“Looking to next year, probably a little slower growth than in 2019, but no huge warning signs anywhere in our economy,” Hicks says.

Mike Hicks

Hicks says, while the state lost about 10,000 manufacturing jobs in 2019, it may have been an anomaly.

“Those losses don’t seem to spill over into anything else. We’ve had a good year despite the job losses. Over the past 18 months, we’ve been seeing wage growth coming everywhere, particularly in the lower wage sectors,” Hicks says.

He predicts about a 2 percent economic growth in 2020, continued low unemployment, and wages that will continue to go up.

“The advantage Indiana has over the rest of the nation is that we’re a compact state. You’re not more than 40 minutes from a city anywhere. That’s a happy story for much of Indiana,” Hicks says.

Attracting and keeping talent in Indiana will continue to be one of the big storylines to keep track of in 2020, Hicks claims.

“What’s happening in central Indiana, which is absorbing a lot of the growth in the state, really has to extend to the rest of the state. We cannot fuel a big, modern economy without more of those college-educated folks,” Hicks says.

Indiana led the Midwest in income growth in the fourth quarter, a fact that Hicks calls “a huge piece of good news.”

 

Cover Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay