Elkhart County promises new jobs for unemployed

The recreational vehicle company Dutchmen Manufacturing Inc. announced Friday its plans to hire 50 more workers at its plant in Elkhart County, Ind., which suffered one of the nation’s largest increases in unemployment since June 2008.

Other players in the RV industry have agreed to expand or move into the area as well, promising hundreds of new jobs for Elkhart residents.

Earlier this month, Dometic LLC, an international manufacturer of RV accessories, revealed its plans to expand operations in Elkhart and LaGrange, Ind., creating a combined 350 jobs by 2012, according to a press release from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.

The agreement came after the corporation offered Dometic up to $1.1 million in tax credits and up to $320,000 in training grants.

The Keystone RV company in Goshen, Ind., will also expand its plant and hire 200 more workers, according to a press release.

In May, RV company Gulf Stream Coach of Nappanee, Ind., announced it would partner with the California-based Electric Motors Corp. to retool its facilities to manufacture an electric pickup truck.

The companies estimated the plans would create more than a thousand jobs in Indiana.

This comes at a pivotal moment in Elkhart, where the unemployment rate reached 16.8 percent in June, far above the national average of 9.7 percent. Unemployment was even higher in Kokomo, Ind., where about 19.2 percent of the labor force was unemployed, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Since June 2008, Elkhart’s unemployment rate increased by 10 percentage points and Kokomo’s jumped 11.8 points – the largest one-year increase in the nation.

In response to the region’s ailing labor force, President Obama visited Elkhart County on Aug. 5, announcing a $39 million grant for Navistar, formerly Monaco Coach, to build 400 batteries for hybrid and electric trucks.

Although it is too early to point to progress reflected in unemployment rates, officials in Elkhart are optimistic about the implications for the economy.

Kyle Hannon, vice president of public policy with the Greater Elkhart Chamber of Commerce, said the expansions were great news for the economy as a whole and might show a turnaround in an industry that has historically been the largest employer in Elkhart.

“A lot of people have said that when this thing turns around, it’s going to start charging ahead,” Hannon said. “I think that’s what we are all anticipating and hoping for.”
Elkhart mayor Dick Moore is also optimistic.

“While the job losses that we as a community have experienced over the past 16 months have had a negative impact on our local economy, I am confident that better times lay ahead,” he said in a press release. “We are a resilient community which has both faced and overcome adversity in the past.”