Mid-year economic outlook at IU Southeast shows lots of jobs, shortage of skilled workers

It’s a familiar refrain throughout much of Indiana these days — plenty of jobs to go around, but not enough skilled workers to fill them.

Southern Indiana is no exception. During the Mid-Year Economic Outlook Breakfast held May 17 at IU Southeast, presenters reiterated the ongoing challenge that labor education presents for the region. Despite a growing push for increased college and career-readiness at the high school level, more steps must be taken to keep skilled workers in the region.

“Work-based learning helps retain (college graduates) locally,” said Ron McKulick, executive director for WorkOne’s Region 10 Workforce Board. “When you look at college graduates who have an internship experience, what the data shows as far as keeping them in the area, it’s really striking stuff.”

The event, funded in part by a RED Fund grant from Indiana University’s Council of Regional Engagement and Economic Development (CREED), showed that Clark County accounted for more than 75 percent of total job growth in the metro area of Louisville that lies north of the Ohio River in Indiana.

As additional jobs comes to the region, finding enough skilled workers to fill them continues to be the largest hurdle, said Uric Dufrene, IU Southeast’s executive vice chancellor for academic affairs.

To read more about the Mid-Year Economic Outlook for southern Indiana, read this article by Jerod Clapp in the News and Tribune.