ST. JOSEPH COUNTY LABOR MARKET PROFILESt. Joseph County is located in Mid-Northern Indiana. The county is bordered on the south by Marshall County. The County is adjacent to Elkhart County on the east, the State of Michigan is to the north, and LaPorte County to the west. St. Joseph 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.
St. Joseph County’s population estimate for 2008 was 266,680, up 0.2 percent from the 2000 Census total. During this same time period, Indiana’s total 2008 population estimate of 6,376,792 was up by 4.6 percent.
Population pageAccording to the 2000 Census, 136,825 people twenty-five years of age and over were high school high school graduates and/or had post-high school education. This amount represented 82.4 percent of St. Joseph County’s twenty-five and over population. For the twenty-five years of age and over population, 39,238 or 23.6 percent were four-year college graduates or higher, ranking St. Joseph County 6th highest among Indiana counties for percentage of this population who were college graduates or higher. In 2007, 2,195 persons graduated high school and 1,767 or 80.5 percent intended to go on to higher education.
Education pageSt. Joseph County’s estimated average unemployment rate for 2008 was 6.6 percent, above Indiana’s annual average of 5.9 percent. The county’s unemployment rate was based on an estimated average residential labor force of 132,758. Of that labor force, 123,988 were employed and 8,770 were unemployed. St. Joseph County’s unemployment rate reached a decade low of 2.8 percent in 1998. The rate rose to 6.6 percent by 2008.
Labor force pageIn 2007 persons living in but commuting to work out of St. Joseph County was 18,883 or 11.2 percent of the labor force. Approximately 88.8 percent of St. Joseph County’s working residents work in the county. The area outside St. Joseph County where the largest number of residents went to work was Elkhart County. In 2007 person commuting to work into the county from outside areas was 20,954 or 12.3 percent of the work force. The area sending the most number of persons into the county to work was State of Michigan.
Commutting pageIn 2008, St. Joseph County businesses had an average of 122,071 jobs. Three major industry sectors: Educational Services, Health Care & Social Assistance, and Manufacturing dominated the county in terms of employment. These three industry sectors accounted for 41.6 percent of the county’s 2008 industry employment. The largest employing industry in the county was Educational Services with 17,267 jobs, accounting for 14.1 percent of total employment. Total covered employment was down 1.3 percent between 2004 and 2008. Educational Services showed the most job growth between 2004 and 2008, increasing 1,122 jobs or 6.9 percent. Transportation and Warehousing was second, adding 927 jobs or 29.1 percent. Management of Companies and Enterprises had the largest percentage gain at 36.9 percent.
Industry employment pageThe average 2008 earnings for St. Joseph County was $38,030 per year versus Indiana’s $38,405. The average industry wage rose by $3,913 or 11.5 percent from 2004 to 2008. The Management of Companies and Enterprises industry had the highest average earnings at $77,764 per year, with the Mining industry second at $71,103, while the industry with the lowest annual earnings number was Accommodation & Food Services at $12,708. Per capita income for 2007 was $35,357 in St. Joseph County, up 22.5 percent since 2002.
Industry earnings pageSt. Joseph County has 6,001 firms, with 201 firms or about 3.3 percent employing 100 or more workers, while firms employing fewer than 10 workers account for 68.5 percent. Also, the number firms employing fewer than 10 workers fell 3.7 per cent or 159 firms between 1999 and 2008 to total 4,108 firms in 2008.
Firms page