Economic professionals from the Kelley School of Business told an audience in Bloomington on Friday that the city and state are well positioned for growth in 2027.
“When you think about Indiana, we like to make things. We like to produce things. We're a manufacturing state,” said Riley Hudelson-Zipper, an IU research data analyst, during the annual Futurecast statewide tour. “Pharmaceuticals, durable goods manufacturing, construction. These are three sectors Indiana excels in, and these are sectors expected to grow the fastest into 2027.”
Phil Powell, executive director of the Indiana Business Research Center, said, economically, Bloomington this year has taken “2 steps forward, 1 step back.”
“Recently, we just had the ribbon cutting at the new center facility,” Powell said. “Huge boost for our life science manufacturing. But earlier in the year, we had a layoff of 400 employees at Novo Nordisk.”
Powell is optimistic that Bloomington is ready for an “economic takeoff” if leaders come together.
Futurecast covers economic forecasts for the U.S., Indiana and the Indianapolis metro area, including GDP growth, inflation, interest rates, employment, industry trends and global markets.
The event was moderated by Patrick Hopkins, Dean of the Kelley School. Other panel members were Andrew Butters, associate professor, Andreas Hauskrecht, assistant professor, and Tina Peterson, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Bloomington.
“These types of outreach activities for the university are extremely important because we have expertise, but what we want to do is ensure that everyone in the community can benefit from the expertise that we have,” Hopkins said.
Major takeaways from Futurecast 2027 for the U.S. are GDP growth of 2.6% and unemployment of below 4%. Inflation is expected to remain between 2% and 3%.
The tour started Nov. 4 in Indianapolis and will stop in three other towns before concluding Nov 20. The next panel will be held in South Bend on Nov. 17.
