Thursday, April 26, 2018
Indiana’s economy continues to thrive, with our state consistently being named one of the best states for doing business and more than one million jobs expected to become available between now and 2025.
Right now, our unemployment rate has been lower than the national average for four years. This trend continued in March, with Indiana’s unemployment rate standing at 3.2 percent, which is 0.9 percent below the national rate and lower than our neighboring states.
While our state’s economy is flourishing, one of Indiana’s biggest long-term challenges is the skills gap that exists between available jobs and available workers. For example, nearly one-third of Indiana employers responded to a survey conducted by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce saying they felt that filling an open position is their biggest challenge, and nearly half of the employers reported that they left an open job unfilled in 2017 due to lack of qualified candidates.
To help close this gap, the General Assembly passed Senate Enrolled Act 50 this session, which establishes the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet. This 21-person cabinet, which replaces a 43-member State Workforce Innovation Council, will help streamline oversight of Indiana’s workforce development programs and fill open positions with qualified Hoosiers.
The newly established cabinet will review Indiana’s workforce programs regularly to identify improvements and better align efforts to enhance our future workforce. The cabinet will also create a career coaching program to aid Hoosiers of all ages in understanding different career pathways that are available.
Educating Hoosiers about alternative job opportunities besides a traditional college degree will help improve job candidacy and bridge the skills gap. While Indiana is excellent in business and our unemployment rate remains above the national average, it is important we continue to strive for advancement and growth to fill open positions with Hoosiers who have the skills to do those jobs.
For more information on our unemployment rate, click here.
