South Bend-Mishawaka and Elkhart-Goshen.

• Author: Black, Grant C.

The economic slowdown experienced across the United States also plagued north-central Indiana. The metropolitan areas of South Bend-Mishawaka (St. Joseph County, Indiana, and Cass Count]6 Michigan) and Elkhart-Goshen (Elkhart County, Indiana) faced a sluggish economy in 2007. The year started slowly and remained slow-moving until an upturn in the third quarter. While uncertainties about the local economy persist, the outlook for 2008 looks marginally better than the past year as the national economy gains momentum.

Employment

Figure 1 shows the overall slowdown in the region's employment growth. Annual unemployment rates in the region have remained steady since 2005. Unemployment rates dropped significantly in the first half of 2007, rose during the early summer, but turned downward again beginning in August. Continuing the trend that began in 2006, the unemployment rate in the South Bend-Mishawaka metro exceeded the national and state averages, while the unemployment rate in the Elkhart-Goshen metro remained below the national and state averages through much of the past year. In 2007, for the first time since 2003, total nonfarm employment fell from the previous year, signaling weakening labor demand and slower economic activity in the region.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

Table 1 reports employment data by industry for the region's metropolitan areas. Approximately 280,000 people are employed in nonfarm sectors across the region, with employment being about 16,000 people higher in the South Bend-Mishawaka metro. From September 2006 to September 2007, total nonfarm employment decreased by less than 0.1 percent, with a loss of 800 jobs in the Elkhart-Goshen metro and a gain of 300 jobs in the South Bend-Mishawaka metro.

Manufacturing employment fell by 1,300 jobs due in part to a sluggish RV market in the Elkhart-Goshen metro, where 1,500 manufacturing jobs were lost. Manufacturing employment will likely remain uncertain in the year ahead as the RV market stays flat and local producers and suppliers continue to feel the side effects from the domestic auto industry's downturn.

Non-manufacturing employment saw more positive changes. Sectors gaining the most jobs were trade, transportation, and utilities in the South Bend-Mishawaka metro, professional and business services in the Elkhart-Goshen metro, leisure and hospitality in Elkhart-Goshen, and educational and health services in South Bend-Mishawaka. Sizeable job losses occurred in manufacturing and...