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 2006 was 198,105, up 8.4 percent from the 2000 Census total. During this same time period, Indiana’s total 2006 population estimate of 6,313,520 was up by 3.8 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. For the 2004-2005 school year, 1,859 persons graduated high school and 1,432 or 77.0 percent intended to go on to higher education.
Education pageElkhart County’s estimated average unemployment rate for 2006 was 4.6 percent, below Indiana’s annual average of 5.0 percent. The county’s unemployment rate was based on an estimated average residential labor force of 105,777. Of that labor force, 100,880 were employed and 4,897 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 2005 persons living in but commuting to work out of Elkhart County was 7,677 or 6.4 percent of the labor force. Approximately 93.6 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 2005 person commuting to work into the county from outside areas was 34,306 or 23.4 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 2006, Elkhart County industry had an average of 127,344 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 65.5 percent of the county’s 2006 industry employment. The largest employing industry in the county was Manufacturing with 64,364 jobs, accounting for 50.5 percent of total employment.
Total covered employment was up 12.2 percent between 2002 and 2006. Manufacturing showed the most job growth between 2002 and 2006, increasing 7,897 jobs or 14.0 percent. Health Care & Social Assistance was second, adding 1,567 jobs or 19.6 percent. Management of Companies had the largest percentage gain at 44.4 percent.
Industry employment pageThe average 2006 earnings for Elkhart County was $35,810 per year versus Indiana’s $36,411. The average industry wage rose by $3,381 or 10.4 percent from 2002 to 2006. The Management of Companies and Enterprises industry had the highest average earnings at $82,623 per year, with the Utilities industry second at $62,650, while the industry with the lowest annual earnings number was Accommodation & Food Services at $11,043. Per capita income for 2005 was $31,725 in Elkhart County, up 44.4 percent since 1995.
Industry earnings pageElkhart County has 4,774 firms, with 232 firms or about 4.9 percent employing 100 or more workers, while firms employing fewer than 10 workers account for 63.1 percent. Also, the number firms employing fewer than 10 workers fell 1.7 per cent or 51 firms between 1999 and 2006 to total 3,012 firms in 2006.
Firms page