Formerly the Industria Centre Shell Building at 2450 Fuson Road is in the process of becoming one of the largest indoor vertical aeroponic farms in the United States. Living Greens is developing the site, which will employ 150, as an example of tradition economic development. But a tremendous increase in remote working may change the focus of economic development in coming years. COREY OHLENKAMP/STAR PRESS
MUNCIE − The economic forecast for East Central Indiana, offered last week by the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University, projects a sluggish, yet growing, economy for Hoosiers in ECI during the coming year.
Economic challenges are nothing new for the area but something is different. The workforce has profoundly changed post-pandemic. Working from home is a practice that has mushroomed − in ECI, in all of Indiana and in the United States, said Michael Hicks, director of the Center.
“If remote work was a separate industry, it would today be the largest industry in the state’s history,” Hicks said in the forecast. “There are more remote workers in Indiana than there have ever been in manufacturing and transportation combined. There are more people working remotely today than people who worked on farms at any time in our state’s history.”
About half of all college graduates in Indiana are now working remotely, the forecast report said. Nationwide there are 36 million remote workers. And there are nearly as many remote workers as there were babies born during the Baby Boom that lasted from1946 to 1964.
“Remote work presents the largest, fastest, and most unusual labor market shock we’ve ever experienced,” Hicks said. “The issue for Indiana is that remote work uncouples the work and home locations. Even part-time remote work, perhaps one or two days per week, extends the commuter range for employees and removes significant congestion in urban places. As workers, families and businesses begin to better adapt, household location decisions will be increasingly influenced by the opportunities of remote work.”
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