Indianapolis.

• Author: Marcus, Morton J.

Hyper-fix, a downtown interstate highway project, was completed with such efficiency that it has been forgotten. The relocation of I-70 alongside the airport is in progress and causing few problems. The U.S. 421 and I-465 interchange was finally completed after a seemingly endless period of time. Even the resurfacing of Binford Boulevard is being undertaken with minimal disruption. These have been the most visible changes in Indianapolis during 2003.

Employment

Less visible was the loss of 17,600 jobs in the nine-county Indianapolis area between September 2002 and the same month this year. This was a 2 percent decline, compared to a national employment drop of just 0.3 percent and a 1.7 percent decline for all eleven Indiana metro areas.

The Indianapolis 2 percent decline ranked 243rd among the nation's 275 metro areas. Milwaukee ranked 250th, but other competitive areas in the Midwest all surpassed Indianapolis (see Figure 1).

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

Contrary to the popular notion, manufacturing was not the prime cause of job losses in the Indianapolis metro area. As seen in Figure 2, the biggest percentage declines in the metro area were not in manufacturing but in professional and business services, as well as in leisure and hospitality.

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

Professional and business services include travel agents, computer systems designers, custom computer programming, advertising, and telemarketing--all activities that have been most adversely affected by the business cycle, major restructuring, or regulatory changes. Manufacturing lost only 1,800 jobs in the past year, while business and professional services lost 7,900 jobs and the leisure and hospitality sector dropped 4,700 jobs.

Building Permits

Residential construction seems to be booming everywhere in the metro area. Yet, despite appearances, it has been down in 2003 from 2002 levels. Of 330 metro areas for which we have building permit data, Indianapolis ranked 225th with a 1.7 percent decline in units authorized. As seen in Figure 3, this does not compare favorably with other metro areas in the U.S. (8.5 percent) or the Midwest.

[FIGURE 3 OMITTED]

Establishments and Wages

Less recent data...