Ball State economist says economy is ‘slowly recovering’
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indiana’s economy has taken a downturn because of the pandemic, but where do we go from here?
Boxes of food being loaded into her trunk at Gleaners Food Bank means a lot to Angie Almonte and her family. “Meals, cheeses, cereals. A lot of stuff. Very good stuff,” Almonte said.
She lost her job 2 weeks ago because of the coronavirus pandemic “Not good. Not good,” she said. “It (does not) not feel good.”
She’s not alone. Ball State economist Michael Hicks says Indiana is down a full 100,000 jobs since this time last year.
Not everyone experiences this downturn the same way.
Hicks, who is the director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University, said people making about $60,000 annually or more are generally in a slow-growth year nationally.
Employment is down 4% for people earning from $27,000-$60,000 annually, he said.
“But, if you’re in the bottom third, that’s $27,000 a year or less, about 1 in 5 workers are unemployed or working less than 10 hours a week. That group of Hoosiers really faced a deep shock from this downturn and they have really been the focus, need to be the focus of the stimulus payments that we’re seeing,” Hicks said.
But, there is economic recovery in the air.
“Our economy is slowly recovering. We are forecasting growth of 2% for 2021,” Hicks said. “But, things are looking up for the state. The vaccinations are going quickly. People are more likely to return to normal earlier than mid-summer as we had predicted. That would tend to boost the prognosis of this year upward.”
While Almonte searches for a new job, she said she chooses to stay positive and even help make sure her neighbors are getting some of her food from the food bank.
“Like the people (who) can’t drive or don’t know about this. So, I help the people,” Almonte said.
This weekend will mark one year since the first confirmed virus case in Indiana. The State Department of Health on Thursday reported 32 more Hoosier deaths, bringing the toll to 12,231.