INDIANA (Indiana's NewsCenter) --- Indiana's per capita income increased between 2000 and 2010, but the state isn’t keeping up with the rest of the country.
The Indiana Chamber of Commerce is hoping to reverse that trend.
A primary goal of the chamber is to boost academic achievement levels in the Hoosier state, which has a lot of room for improvement in that area.
In the year 2000, the per capita personal income in Indiana was more than $27,500, ranking 32nd in the nation.
The income level rose to nearly $35,000 in 2010, but it didn’t keep up with other states.
Indiana lost ground, dropping to 41st in the nation.
A decline in manufacturing jobs, particularly automotive jobs, gets a big part of the blame for the drop-off.
The chamber has released a new plan called, "Indiana Vision 2025", setting out long-term goals for the state.
One is to help Indiana students attain "top five" status internationally in math, science and reading proficiency.
The idea is to make sure the state prepares its workers for what lies ahead.
Jim Marcuccilli/Star Financial Bank: " I think our most significant weakness is we do not have all of the top talent that we need to fill the jobs that are available in the economy today and we understand that and we have to figure out a solution."
Besides increasing the focus on math and science, the plan calls for increasing to 60 percent, the proportion of Indiana residents with postsecondary credentials, like a degree from an institution like Ivy Tech.
"Indiana Vision 2025" is being presented at a series of forums being held around the state.
About 40 business leaders attended one of the forums held in Fort Wayne on Wednesday.
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