FULTON COUNTY LABOR MARKET PROFILEFulton County is located in Mid-Northern Indiana. The county is bordered on the south by Cass and Miami Counties. The County is adjacent to Kosciusko County on the east, Marshall County is to the north, and Pulaski County to the west. Fulton 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.
Fulton County’s population estimate for 2006 was 20,622, up 0.5 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, 10,922 people twenty-five years of age and over were high school high school graduates and/or had post-high school education. This amount represented 80.2 percent of Fulton County’s twenty-five and over population. For the twenty-five years of age and over population, 1,401 or 10.3 percent were four-year college graduates or higher, ranking Fulton County 69th highest among Indiana counties for percentage of this population who were college graduates or higher. For the 2004-2005 school year, 145 persons graduated high school and 122 or 84.1 percent intended to go on to higher education.
Education pageFulton County’s estimated average unemployment rate for 2006 was 5.3 percent, above Indiana’s annual average of 5.0 percent. The county’s unemployment rate was based on an estimated average residential labor force of 10,603. Of that labor force, 10,042 were employed and 561 were unemployed. Fulton County’s unemployment rate reached a decade low of 3.9 percent in 1999 and again in 2000. The rate rose to 6.2 percent by 2003.
Labor force pageIn 2005 persons living in but commuting to work out of Fulton County was 3,009 or 21.4 percent of the labor force. Approximately 78.6 percent of Fulton County’s working residents work in the county. The area outside Fulton County where the largest number of residents went to work was Kosciusko County. In 2005 person commuting to work into the county from outside areas was 1,470 or 11.8 percent of the work force. The area sending the most number of persons into the county to work was Miami County.
Commutting pageIn 2006, Fulton County industry had an average of 6,806 jobs. Three major industry sectors: Manufacturing, Government (all levels), and Retail Trade dominated the county in terms of employment. These three industry sectors accounted for 66.5 percent of the county’s 2006 industry employment. The largest employing industry in the county was Manufacturing with 2,455 jobs, accounting for 36.1 percent of total employment.
Total covered employment was up 0.3 percent between 2002 and 2006. Government (all levels) showed the most job growth between 2002 and 2006, increasing 131 jobs or 12.0 percent. Manufacturing was second, adding 91 jobs or 3.8 percent. Transportation & Warehousing had the largest percentage gain at 82.9 percent.
Industry employment pageThe average 2006 earnings for Fulton County was $30,069 per year versus Indiana’s $36,411. The average industry wage rose by $2,957 or 10.9 percent from 2002 to 2006. The Finance & Insurance industry had the highest average earnings at $45,777 per year, with the Transportation and Warehousing industry second at $43,705, while the industry with the lowest annual earnings number was Accommodation & Food Services at $9,326. Per capita income for 2005 was $26,678 in Fulton County, up 43 percent since 1995.
Industry earnings pageFulton County has 457 firms, with 16 firms or about 3.5 percent employing 100 or more workers, while firms employing fewer than 10 workers account for 69.1 percent. Also, the number firms employing fewer than 10 workers fell 12.5 per cent or 45 firms between 1999 and 2006 to total 316 firms in 2006.
Firms page