Strong Report Card From Allen County Businesses

Photo courtesy of Visit Fort Wayne

A vast majority of business leaders in Allen County believe northeast Indiana is on the right track for business development and for job growth.

Greater Fort Wayne Inc., which serves as the chamber of commerce for Allen County and Fort Wayne, has released the results of a survey gauging the business climate for the region.

According to the survey, 91% view the climate as positive or very positive and 63% say they plan to grow their workforce this year.

GFW Inc. says the companies growing their workforce plan to add, on average. between 1-10 workers in 2020. Most of the jobs are entry- and mid-level positions.

“It’s encouraging to see the optimism in the business community—especially the plans to grow jobs and wages,” said John Urbahns, president and chief executive officer of Greater Fort Wayne Inc.

Urbahns says 55% of the respondents plan to increase wages and/or benefits in 2020. While the chamber says it saw a lot of positive responses, it also recognizes talent attraction and retention was listed as the top barrier to company growth.

“We can’t become complacent, though. We know we’re competing against communities across the country for jobs and talent, so we must continue working to create the best conditions for businesses and the community to thrive,” Urbahns said.

GFW commissioned Indianapolis-based Loyalty Research Center to design and conducted the online survey.

More than 350 business leaders completed the poll in October.

Click here to view the results of the survey.