ELKHART COUNTY LABOR MARKET PROFILE
Elkhart County is located in Mid-Northern Indiana. The county is bordered on the south by Kosciusko County. The County is adjacent to Lagrange County on the east, the State of Michigan is to the north, and St. Joseph County to the west. Elkhart County is one of the five counties located in the area designated by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development as Indiana Economic Growth Region 2.
Elkhart County’s population estimate for 2007 was 198,034, up 8.3 percent from the 2000 Census total. During this same time period, Indiana’s total 2007 population estimate of 6,344,881 was up by 4.3 percent.
Population pageAccording to the 2000 Census, 85,517 people twenty-five years of age or over were high school graduates and/or had post-high school education. This amount represented 75.7 percent of the twenty-five and up county population. For the twenty-five years of age and over population, 17,509 or 15.5 percent were four year college graduates or higher, ranking Elkhart County 22nd highest among Indiana counties for percentage of this population who were college graduates or higher. In 2006, 1,944 persons graduated high school and 1,516 or 78.0 percent intended to go on to higher education.
Education pageElkhart County’s estimated average unemployment rate for 2007 was 4.6 percent, above Indiana’s annual average of 4.5 percent. The county’s unemployment rate was based on an estimated average residential labor force of 101,601. Of that labor force, 96,961 were employed and 4,640 were unemployed. Elkhart County’s unemployment rate reached a decade low of 2.2 percent in 1999. The rate rose to 4.8 percent by 2002.
Labor force pageIn 2006 persons living in but commuting to work out of Elkhart County was 7,933 or 6.5 percent of the labor force. Approximately 93.5 percent of Elkhart County’s working residents work in the county. The area outside Elkhart County where the largest number of residents went to work was St. Joseph County. In 2006 person commuting to work into the county from outside areas was 35,121 or 23.6 percent of the work force. The area sending the most number of persons into the county to work was St. Joseph County.
Commutting page
In 2007, Elkhart County industry had an average of 124,713 jobs. Three major industry sectors: Manufacturing, Health Care & Social Assistance, and Retail Trade dominated the county in terms of employment. These three industry sectors accounted for 64.9 percent of the county’s 2007 industry employment. The largest employing industry in the county was Manufacturing with 62,231 jobs, accounting for 49.9 percent of total employment.
Total covered employment was up 1.4 percent between 2004 and 2007. Health Care & Social Assistance showed the most job growth between 2004 and 2007, increasing 747 jobs or 8.6 percent. Educational Services was second, adding 700 jobs or 12.7 percent. Transportation and Warehousing had the largest percentage gain at 32.9 percent.
Industry employment pageThe average 2007 earnings for Elkhart County was $36,567 per year versus Indiana’s $37,529. The average industry wage rose by $1,950 or 5.6 percent from 2004 to 2007. The Management of Companies and Enterprises industry had the highest average earnings at $83,165 per year, with the Utilities industry second at $69,009, while the industry with the lowest annual earnings number was Accommodation & Food Services at $11,406. Per capita income for 2006 was $32,723 in Elkhart County, up 16.9 percent since 2002.
Industry earnings pageElkhart County has 4,846 firms, with 226 firms or about 4.7 percent employing 100 or more workers, while firms employing fewer than 10 workers account for 64.0 percent. Also, the number firms employing fewer than 10 workers rose 1.3 per cent or 40 firms between 1999 and 2007 to total 3,103 firms in 2007.
Firms page