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Advanced Energy Job Sector Growing in Indiana

By Justin Hicks, IPB News | Published on in Business, Environment, Technology
A wind farm along I-65 in northwestern Indiana. (Lauren Chapman/IPB News)
A wind farm along I-65 in northwestern Indiana. (Lauren Chapman/IPB News)

The national business group Advanced Energy Economy is reporting a 4 percent growth in Indiana jobs last year. That means more Hoosiers than ever are working in renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Most of the jobs are located in Marion County and the fastest growing sector was energy efficient vehicle production. It saw 18 percent more jobs last year than the year before.

Caryl Auslander is the director of Advanced Energy Economy for Indiana. She says with trends in the energy market moving slowly towards renewable energy, she expects to see even more jobs created in the future.

“As more technologies come on board and we’re seeing Indiana utilities starting to invest more, I think we will anticipate larger growth as we move forward,” she says.

Along with the rapid growth of jobs in advanced energy, its data also shows that 23 percent of employers say it’s “very difficult” to find qualified candidates.

Contact Justin at jhicks@wvpe.org or follow him on Twitter at @Hicks_JustinM.