Many Hoosiers believe jobs are plentiful but those without a college degree are find it difficult to land a job.
This is according to the 2019 Hoosier Survey from Old National Bank and Ball State University. The telephone survey of 600 adult Indiana residents found 64% of respondents saying they believe jobs are available in in their community versus 25% saying finding employment is difficult.
The Hoosier Survey found that among respondents with only a high school diploma or less, 29% report that jobs are difficult to find, compared to only 18% for college graduates and 24% for those with some college.
“In some respects, Hoosiers with lower levels of education or household income seem to be having a different experience than those with more education or higher incomes,” said Charles Taylor, managing director of the Bowen Center for Public Affairs at Ball State, which conducts the annual public opinion survey. “Not only are they more likely to say that jobs are hard to find, but they are also more likely to report growing numbers of immigrant workers and the sale of more foreign-made products in the U.S. as harmful to workers in their communities.”
The study found 65% of respondents identified exports as beneficial to the state while 41% said a growing number of immigrants working in the U.S was helping Indiana. The two factors most likely to be identified as harmful included increased outsourcing of jobs to other countries (79%) and the imports of foreign-made products (65%).
The survey found that improving public schools, public safety, and local streets and roads were Hoosiers’ top priorities for their communities.
Other findings include:
- About 37% of Hoosiers said that road maintenance had improved, compared to 18% that said it had worsened.
- For the second year in a row, more Hoosiers reported that the quality of their local schools had improved than reported it had worsened.
- About 70% of respondents expressed they are very or somewhat satisfied with the state’s efforts to attract jobs.
- About 52% said property tax caps had little effect on families, 25% said caps were positive, and 15% reported a negative impact.
