"Dufrene said low pay is tied to lower rates of educational attainment."

Lower wages are tied to lower rates of educational attainment, and yet in general terms, one needs money to be educated. A bit of a conundrum, though $87 million in bricks and mortar should ... help?

I really need to attend one of these, some day. How much of the forecasting deal with grassroots indie business development, as opposed to the boilerplate public subsidy erotica that lulls One Southern Indiana to a restful sleep each night?

IUS Economic Outlook 2017 panel talks uncertainties of Trump ... regionally, economy expected to grow, by Elizabeth DePompei (News and Tribune)

... The labor force is expected to grow too. But anecdotal evidence shows employers are having a hard time finding skilled, educated workers, which (Uric) Dufrene tied to the region’s lower pay averages.

Southern Indiana ranks toward the bottom for weekly pay averages compared to other metro areas in the state, Dufrene said. Average weekly pay in Southern Indiana is $709, as opposed to the $853 national average.

Dufrene said low pay is tied to lower rates of educational attainment. According to 2010-2014 U.S. Census data, less than 20 percent of people 25 years and older had a bachelor’s degree or higher in Clark County. That number comes in at just over 24 percent for Floyd County.

“We will not be able to attract and grow higher paying jobs if we don’t grow or attract a more skilled and educated work force,” Dufrene said. “It has to be a key piece to the long-term economic development strategy of the region” ...