While it is obvious to industry observers that unemployment is up dramatically in Elkhart County since the COVID-19 crisis forced the closure of many RV plants and other businesses related to the industry, the official unemployment numbers from the state of Indiana make the full extent of that reality crystal clear.
In the last two weeks of March and first week of April, there were 66 times more initial claims of unemployment in Elkhart County than in the same timeframe last year – 18,383 claims this year vs. 277 last year, according to Indiana Department of Workforce Development data.
The chart comparing weekly unemployment claims in 2019 and 2020 puts the numerical spike in stark relief. The raw numbers show just how unusual the effect of coronavirus-inspired furloughs has been, especially considering Elkhart County’s population is about 206,000.
The 9,844 initial unemployment claims in the final week of March were most for any single week the Indiana Department of Workforce Development has on record; the 7,487 claims in the first week of April were the second-highest.
By comparison, the worst single week of the Great Recession in late December 2008 had only 3,152 initial claims of unemployment.
However, in contrast to the 2008-09 economic downturn, many RV-industry businesses have given clear indication their layoffs are temporary, and that they expect to hire back many furloughed employees when government-mandated COVID-19 lockdowns end and the worst of the pandemic has abated.
