Indy Touts Job Growth in 2016

The organization says about 150

The economic development division of the Indy Chamber is joining the city of Indianapolis in celebrating the creation and retention of jobs in 2016. The annual report from Develop Indy says 49 companies announced relocation or expansion projects in Indianapolis last year, leading to about 4,500 new jobs and keeping another 6,800 in the city. The efforts are expected to bring $600 million in new payroll and capital investment to the local economy.

Unemployment fell to 4 percent in Marion County in 2016. Develop Indy says investments from tech companies such as Salesforce, Knowledge Services, Octiv and Scale Computing led the way in terms of job creation last year.  

"As we look back on the list of companies that chose Indianapolis in 2016, we see a strong business climate and a surge in the technology sector," said Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett. "Employers are taking notice of the momentum in our community and seeing an Indianapolis address as a competitive advantage for their business and employees."

The report says Indy’s advanced manufacturing and life sciences sectors scored wins as well. Indy Chamber Chief Executive Officer Michael Huber says the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute is positioning the city for even more growth as a global health innovation leader.

Ian Nicolini, who was recently named vice president of economic development for Develop Indy, says the organization is looking to boost employment and investment throughout Marion County. "We’re working every day to attract new businesses, from across the country and around the world. But we’re also playing a stronger role in ‘homegrown’ opportunities – for every company we connected with outside Indy, we made four contacts with existing Indianapolis employers to understand their challenges and opportunities."