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 2006 was 266,678, up 0.4 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, 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. For the 2004-2005 school year, 2,185 persons graduated high school and 1,654 or 75.7 percent intended to go on to higher education.
Education pageSt. Joseph County’s estimated average unemployment rate for 2006 was 5.1 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 136,217. Of that labor force, 129,229 were employed and 6,988 were unemployed. St. Joseph County’s unemployment rate reached a decade low of 2.8 percent in 1998. The rate rose to 5.3 percent by 2002.
Labor force pageIn 2005 persons living in but commuting to work out of St. Joseph County was 18,169 or 11.0 percent of the labor force. Approximately 89.0 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 2005 person commuting to work into the county from outside areas was 19,938 or 12.0 percent of the work force. The area sending the most number of persons into the county to work was State of Michigan.
Commutting pageIn 2006, St. Joseph County businesses had an average of 123,901 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 40.0 percent of the county’s 2006 industry employment. The largest employing industry in the county was Manufacturing with 17,855 jobs, accounting for 14.4 percent of total employment. Total covered employment was up 1.1 percent between 2002 and 2006. Administrative and Waste Services showed the most job growth between 2002 and 2006, increasing 1,237 jobs or 24.9 percent. Accommodation and Food Services was second, adding 742 jobs or 8.3 percent. Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting had the largest percentage gain at 75.2 percent.
Industry employment pageThe average 2006 earnings for St. Joseph County was $35,427 per year versus Indiana’s $36,411. The average industry wage rose by $3,604 or 11.3 percent from 2002 to 2006. The Management of Companies and Enterprises industry had the highest average earnings at $82,674 per year, with the Mining industry second at $63,559, while the industry with the lowest annual earnings number was Accommodation & Food Services at $12,027. Per capita income for 2005 was $32,354 in St. Joseph County, up nearly 51 percent since 1995.
Industry earnings pageSt. Joseph County has 5,911 firms, with 195 firms or about 3.3 percent employing 100 or more workers, while firms employing fewer than 10 workers account for 66.8 percent. Also, the number firms employing fewer than 10 workers fell 7.5 per cent or 321 firms between 1999 and 2006 to total 3,946 firms in 2006.
Firms page