NAPPANEE — While the RV industry is under fire on Capitol Hill, the struggling economy is also hitting local plants. Wednesday, Newmar RV began laying off more than 150 workers.

In recent weeks, other local RV factories have let go hundreds of workers, and it's getting harder and harder for these workers to find a job.

Long before the doors at the Work One office opened Wednesday morning, unemployed workers lined up.

Many are like Robert Collins.

"I’m in the RV business and that's all I’ve done for the past ten years and now all the RV industries all around this area, the Michiana area, are laying off,” Collins said. “I don't know what I’m going to do.”

Collins is not alone.

As a result of the layoffs, more clients are coming to the employment offices, making the competition much tougher for the jobs that are available.

“The company that I worked for, it went and shut and closed the doors,” said laid-off worker Jerry Hamilton. “It went out of business and now it doesn’t exist anymore. It’s hard to find any more of them around."

Jean Cleavenger was laid off after working at a plant that made RV components.

“Anywhere there’s been a door open I’ve been there and there's just nobody hiring, everybody's laying off or else rotating their people to keep them working,” Cleavenger said. “There's just nothing out there anymore."

“I got laid off a couple weeks ago, it’s not getting any better, it's going downhill,” said Aron Farrell. “So right now I’m just putting in applications even in the little places, and I’ll probably start with gas stations and stuff, because that's probably all I can get."

Several laid off workers told WSBT News they don't expect the RV job market to pick up any time soon, mostly because high gas prices mean fewer people are buying RVs.