(The Center Square) – A report commissioned by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce found that while the state has a great business climate, it continues to struggle in areas hindering growth.
That was the primary takeaway from the business group’s Indiana Prosperity 2035 Report Card, released recently.
The study, which is part of the long-term plan the chamber released in the summer, found several metrics where Indiana ranks among the top states in the nation. For example, 11% of Hoosier workers are employed in knowledge-intensive industries such as manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and software development. That’s the third-highest percentage in the U.S. In addition, less than a quarter of households spend more than 30% of their income on household costs, which was fourth best.
While the state was ranked ninth for its business climate, the report also found Indiana ranked No. 40 in venture capital disbursement and No. 44 in developing entrepreneurs.
Indiana Prosperity looks at 49 statistics the chamber says are critical for the state to spur additional growth. It has fallen in 28 categories and only seen growth in 20, and current percentages or scores are below the national average in 30 metrics.
Other categories where Indiana ranked No. 40 or lower include its working-age population with a bachelor’s degree (No. 40), percent of degreed workers migrating to the state in the past year (No. 41), adult smoking rate (tied for No. 41), production of clean energy (No. 46) and health care costs per person (No. 47).
In some of those areas, the state is seeing improvement. For example, the 9.4% of clean energy generated is up from just 1.6% in 2009 and 5.7% in 2017. In addition, despite the state’s low number of workers with a bachelor’s degree, it does have 54% of workers with an associate degree or credential. That 6% jump allowed Indiana to move from No. 37 to No. 22 in just two years.
Chamber President and CEO Kevin Brinegar said the positive news is worth celebrating, but there are several opportunities for growth for the state.
“Right at the top – where we need to redouble our focus – centers around health care costs. Indiana ranks among the bottom states for health care affordability in metrics for premiums and actual expenditures,” said Brinegar, who will retire next month.
Vanessa Green Sinders, his successor, said the report’s findings show a need for discussions among stakeholders on how to improve some of the rankings.
“We look forward to working with partners across the state to help Indiana rise even higher on the list of best states to do business and be viewed as a location more people want to live, work and come visit,” she said.