Noble County ranks third in Indiana at attracting new industry and 10th in the state per capita at attracting new jobs, according to a state agency.
The rankings come from the Indiana Economic Development Corp., a state agency created in 2005 by Gov. Mitch Daniels to replace the former Indiana Department of Commerce.
“Noble County was 10th in new jobs committed per capita since 2005, and the county was third in total number of deals per capita. Both measures take either new jobs committed or total deals and divide them by the county’s population,” said Mitch Frazier, director of media relations for the IEDC.
The improvement is noteworthy because the Noble County Economic Development Corp. was only in the works, not in place, in 2005, a time when many other counties already had EDCs, said Noble County EDC executive director Rick Sherck.
That means Noble County has seen more improvement in two years than most counties have in three, Sherck said.
“To obtain this high a ranking, the vision that the county as a whole had is paying off,” Sherck said. The community saw the need to change its work environment by proactive means. “We’re seeing some success,” he added.
In the current uncertain economic times, the Noble County EDC is still working hard both to retain jobs and seek new jobs as industries consolidate, Sherck said.
Over the three year period in the IEDC rankings, Steuben County is the top county in the state for attracting new jobs per capita, and DeKalb ranked eighth in bringing in new industry.
On an Oct. 31 visit to Avilla, Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman said Noble County is the number one county per capita in job creation this year.