INDIANAPOLIS | The Indiana Economic Development Corp. said it has worked with 123 companies that have decided to expand or establish new business operations in Indiana for a total of more than 11,000 projected new jobs.
That compares with 200 decisions by companies to locate a projected 23,000 new jobs in the state, announced at the end of last year.
The IEDC is the state's commerce department.
The new positions, which companies expect to hire over the next five years, pay an expected average hourly wage of $22.88, higher than the state's current hourly wage of $18.71. Since January, the more than 120 companies anticipate investing $1.76 billion in their Indiana operations in the coming years. The average amount of state performance-based tax incentives offered to companies on a per-job basis is $8,622, below the 2010 year-end amount of $9,981.
On Thursday, the IEDC announced that Fronius USA LLC, the fourth-largest solar inverter producer in the world, is the 1,000th new business establishment or expansion the agency has completed since its inception in 2005.
Business consolidations from Illinois have been a trend this year with 12 companies so far planning to move all or a portion of their operations to Indiana. Several that have announced moves are Berry Plastics, NetShape Technologies and American College of Education.
"Indiana continues to be noticed for its low-tax, fiscally sound environment, and with our corporate tax rate on its way down, we are further distinguished from neighboring states and global competitors as a location that is welcoming to new business investment," said Mitch Roob, secretary of commerce and CEO of the IEDC.