LABOR MARKET PROFILE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH REGION 2
(Inclusive of: St. Joseph, Elkhart, Marshall, Fulton, and Kosciusko Counties)The area designated by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development as Indiana Economic Growth Region 2 is located at the Mid-Northern border of Indiana. It is made up of the five Indiana counties of St. Joseph, Elkhart, Marshall, Fulton, and Kosciusko. The Region is bordered on the south by Cass, Miami, and Wabash Counties. It is adjacent to Lagrange, Noble, and Whitley Counties on the east. The State of Michigan is to the north, and LaPorte, Starke, and Pulaski Counties to the west. .
Indiana's Region 2 population estimate for 2007 was 607,433 up 3.3 percent from the 2000 Census total of 588,046. During this same time period, Indiana’s total 2007 population estimate of 6,344,881 was up by 4.3 percent. The Region 2 estimated population made up 9.6 percent of Indiana's total for 2007.
Population pageAccording to the 2000 Census, 294,485 people twenty-five years of age or over were high school graduates and/or had post-high school education. This amount represented 80.0 percent of the twenty-five and up regional population. For the twenty-five years of age and over population, 69,405 or 18.8 percent were four year college graduates or greater. In 2006, 5,841 persons graduated high school that year and 4,735 or 81.1 percent intended to go on to higher education.
Education pageRegion 2’s estimated average unemployment rate for 2007 was 4.7 percent, above Indiana's average 4.5 percent. The region's unemployment rate was based on an estimated average residential labor force of 308,842. Of that labor force, 294,315 were employed and 14,527 were unemployed. Region 2’s unemployment rate reached a decade low of 2.8 percent in 2000. The rate rose to 5.0 percent by 2002 and stayed at that level for 2003.
Labor force pageIn 2007 the number of persons living in but commuting to work out of Region 2 was 12,044 or 3.1 percent of the labor force. About 96.9 percent of Region 2’s working residents worked in the region. The area outside Region 2 where the largest number of residents went to work was the State of Michigan. In 2007 the number of persons commuting to work into the region from outside areas was 36,712 or 8.8 percent of the work force. The area sending the most number of persons into the region to work was the State of Michigan.
In 2007, Region 2 businesses had an average of 309,752 jobs. Three major industry sectors: Manufacturing, Health Care and Social Assistance, and Retail Trade dominated the county in terms of employment. These three industry sectors accounted for 53.6 percent of the region’s 2007 industry employment. The largest employing industry in the region was Manufacturing with 103,296 jobs, accounting for 33.3 percent of total employment. Total covered employment was up 1.3 percent between 2004 and 2007. Transportation and Warehousing showed the most job growth between 2004 and 2007, increasing 2,066 jobs or 36.4 percent. Health Care and Social Assistance was second, adding 1,800 jobs, an increase of 6.0 percent. Transportation and Warehousing also had the largest percentage gain at 36.4 percent.
Industry employment pageThe average 2007 earnings for Region 2 was $36,579 per year versus Indiana’s $37,529. The average industry wage rose by $2,265 or 6.6 percent from 2004 to 2007. The Management of Companies and Enterprises industry had the highest average earnings at $77,173 per year, with the Utilities industry second at $64,127, while the industry with the lowest annual earnings number was Accommodation & Food Services at $11,750. Per capita income for 2006 was $32,641 in Region 2, up 17.0 percent since 2002.
Industry earnings pageRegion 2 has 14,214 firms, with 524 firms or about 3.7 percent employing 100 or more workers, while firms employing fewer than 10 workers account for 67.3 percent. Also, the number firms employing fewer than 10 workers declined 1.4 per cent or 138 firms between 1999 and 2007 to total 9,568 firms in 2007.
Firms page