Business and economic experts came together Nov. 1 to present their forecasts for 2025 during the Northwest Indiana Business RoundTable (NWIBRT) Business & Economic Outlook at Ivy Tech Community College in Valparaiso, Indiana.
Hosted by NWIBRT and the Construction Advancement Foundation (CAF), the annual event seeks to highlight what has been driving key sectors in Northwest Indiana’s business community and what is projected for the upcoming year.
In his opening remarks, emcee Donald Babcock, director of economic development and community relations with Purdue University Northwest (PNW), said the investment of billions of dollars in Northwest Indiana throughout the last few years is making a difference.
“We have momentum, and it wasn’t easy to get here. How do we maintain this momentum? We can’t forget how we got here,” he said. “A big part of the reason we are here today is because of all of you and the collaboration we have had together to really believe that our future can be even brighter than yesterday was. And we are seeing it. Our confidence is growing. Indiana is more than bold.”
Presenters for the event included Bert Cook, Executive Director, LaPorte Economic Advancement Partnership; Steve Skalka, Chief Fiduciary Officer, Harbour Trust & Investment Management Company; Heather Ennis, President and CEO, Northwest Indiana Forum; Sherri Ziller, President and CEO, Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority; Tony Harl, State Director of CTE, Indiana Commission for Higher Education; Roland Fegan, Deputy Commissioner of Construction, Indiana Department of Transportation; and keynote speaker Dr. Micah Pollak, Associate Professor of Economics, Indiana University Northwest.
In his presentation, Pollak said employment in Northwest Indiana grew more in 2024 than he had predicted last year, as the area became more diversified across sectors and development attracted and grew higher paying jobs. He said he remains cautiously optimistic about more growth in 2025.
“For next year, I am still not going to be overly optimistic because there is a lot of uncertainty, like how politics will affect the economy,” Pollak said. “But if it stays the way things are going, and we can keep on the same track, we will probably do a lot better next year."
