04/03/2023
Really good story on the Indianapolis labor market via CoStar.
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This Midwest City Tops the Charts in Job Growth
Indianapolis Benefits From Several Key Concentrations
By Elizabeth Ptacek
CoStar Analytics
March 30, 2023 | 10:22 AM
While employment nationally is about 2% above pre-pandemic levels, employment in Indianapolis is more than 5% above levels seen locally in early 2020, with the city benefiting from several key concentrations.
Indianapolis is one of the top U.S. logistics hubs, home to the world's second-largest FedEx Express hub and the divisional headquarters for freight and transportation giant CSX. Employment in the area’s trade, transportation and utilities sector is 10% above February 2020 levels, compared to just 4% higher nationally.
Pharmaceuticals is another important employment concentration, with local employers Eli Lilly and Roche benefiting from strong demand for COVID antibody treatments and testing. In 2022 alone, employment in this sector was up 7% in Indianapolis.
These solid employment gains are supporting strong household income growth, with median incomes up almost 20% since 2019, compared to a national average of 12%. This has clearly benefited the area’s real estate sectors, most notably retail, as steady demand drove vacancy rates in the Indianapolis retail market to the lowest point on record late last year. And while it has moved up a bit year to date, vacancy is still sitting at just 3.5%, 70 basis points below the U.S. national benchmark.
Cincinnati’s employment recovery comes in at a distant second, although growth there still outpaces most other regional peers and the U.S. average overall. Logistics has played a role here as well, with employment in trade, transportation and utilities up almost 6% from pre-pandemic levels. Gains in professional and business services have been even more impressive in the Ohio city, up 8% over the past three years.
