SOUTH BEND — Four Indiana University business professors categorized their outlook for the state and local economy in 2018 as a “Goldilocks equation.”
Not too hot, not too cold.
During a panel held on the campus of Indiana University South Bend Friday morning, the four said they expect the economy to continue its slow but steady rate of growth, and don’t foresee an imminent downturn in 2018. Hong Zhuang, director of IUSB’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research, highlighted a number of comparisons between the local economies of the South Bend-Mishawaka area and the Elkhart-Goshen area.
Both regions have experienced notable growth in gross domestic product this year, accompanied by falling unemployment rates and rising average wages. Upticks have also been seen in the South Bend-Mishawaka housing market, with a 50 percent increase in single family building permits and a small rise in real estate prices.
But the last year also experienced a shift in where workers are employed in each region.
In the South Bend-Mishawaka region, about 1,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost so far in 2017, where job growth has come in sectors including private education and health services. By contrast, the ongoing resurgence of the RV and automotive industries in the Elkhart-Goshen region has resulted in 4,900 new manufacturing jobs this year.
“My prediction for 2018 would be pretty consistent with the state and national forecasts,” Zhuang said. “We can expect moderate growth in South Bend-Mishawaka and Elkhart-Goshen.”