Economic Development Council presents snapshot into area’s economy

Posted on September 24, 2015
Aimee Ingalls with the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council presents "Bloomington-Normal By The Numbers" at the ISU Alumni Center Thursday. (Joe Ragusa/WJBC)
Aimee Ingalls with the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council presents “Bloomington-Normal By The Numbers” at the ISU Alumni Center Thursday. (Joe Ragusa/WJBC)

By Joe Ragusa

NORMAL – The cost of doing business in Bloomington-Normal has gone up this year.

“We attribute that to the tremendous outlook for hiring, which is at levels that we haven’t seen in a while,” Aimee Ingalls with the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council said during her B-N By The Numbers presentation Thursday.

Ingalls said unemployment has gone up slightly in the area, but it’s still lower than every other metro area in the state.

Home construction and existing home sales are up in Bloomington-Normal, but Ingalls pointed out that the housing market is very volatile.

Retail growth is up in the area: 2.4 percent in Bloomington and 1.3 percent in Normal.

Joe Ragusa can be reached at [email protected].

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