EDITORIAL: Economic diversification for Northwest Indiana is urgent

Times of Northwest Indiana

Steel is the region's economic backbone, but we've seen time and again the pain that occurs when a disc slips in that backbone.

On Wednesday, ArcelorMittal said it planned to indefinitely lay off up to 978 employees at its Indiana Harbor facilities. This follows wave after wave of layoffs and consolidation in the industry.

Who knows when it will end?

We do know, however, that the latest news from ArcelorMittal is further evidence of the urgent need to diversify the local economy.

It is a sentiment echoed in a new report that shows the life sciences industry accounted for nearly a quarter of the jobs so far this decade.

That's fortunate for Indiana, because the annual wage of a typical life sciences job in 2007 was $82,000, more than double the state's average wage, according to the report by the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University.

That report warns of the need for a balanced economic growth strategy.

"While life science manufacturing output has surpassed that of transportation and manufacturing in recent years, it has done so with less than one-third the work force," the report said.

"The importance of this sector's tremendous productivity cannot be overstated. Yet it is important to keep in mind that, in terms of employment alone, gains in life science manufacturing will not offset losses in the broader manufacturing sector if recent trends persist," it said.

In Northwest Indiana, there is a move afoot to build a teaching hospital in Gary and expand the Indiana University School of Medicine branch to a four-year program. Each should happen.

The region needs to be less dependent on steel, but it shouldn't replace one crutch for another, the way it has been doing with the casino industry.

A balanced economy is needed.

That includes strategies like the technology districts that a new state law will allow, but other initiatives as well.

The Purdue Technology Center and other incubators need to be put to good use.

Business recruitment strategies should be honed and put to good use.

Make this region more hospitable for intermodal facilities to ease freight congestion in the Chicago area.

Improve access to solid, high-paying jobs outside the region and within it as well.

In short, keep pushing on a variety of initiatives that collectively promise to grow the economy and balance it as well.