Officials with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation shared good news about the state’s economic health during Wednesday’s Knox County Development Corporation Annual Banquet.
Rollie Helmling, a Vincennes native, who is the Vice President of Business Development for the IEDC says there are more Hoosiers who are gainfully employed than ever before in the state’s history.
He noted that the state’s unemployment rate stands at 4-percent and the average hourly wage has increased over the past decade to just over 25-dollars an hour.
Helmling says that job number one for the I-E-D-C is creating better paying jobs for Hoosiers across the state.
TAKE AUDIO HELMLING 2 :23 OC: “To Locate Here”
Helmling credited Vincennes University for doing its part in providing highly skilled workers for jobs that are in high demand such as advanced manufacturing.
He says the state also offers incentive programs like the Skilled Enhancement Fund which will pay half the cost for an employee’s training to upgrade their job skills, so that they can seek advancement and earn a higher wage.