The Indiana Chamber released the results of its 12th annual workforce survey Friday at the Indiana Workforce Summit. It surveyed more than 1,000 employers across the state to get a snapshot of the current needs and trends in workforce development.

Fewer than half of employers say that filling workforce talent needs is one of their biggest challenges. That’s a big shift from last year when 80 percent said it was.

Jason Bearce is the vice president of education and workforce development for the chamber. He says it’s a combination of businesses having some concerns about the economy and being more deliberate about how they find and develop workers.

“Employers are recognizing that this is sort of the new normal in terms of, they can’t just post a job opening and wait for the right individual to come through the door anymore,” he says. “They’re going to have to be much more proactive.”

Like last year, almost half of Indiana’s employers are leaving jobs unfilled because they couldn’t find qualified applicants. The survey also showed that fewer employers across the state are firing workers for a failed drug test.

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