ELKHART COUNTY — The state of the county's economy and the RV industry has topped local headlines for months, but there was no mention during Gov. Mitch Daniel's State of the State address Tuesday night.

Some laid off workers say programs have helped, but they still want solutions and jobs.

Daniels commanded attention on the state of the economy and education, but one issue missing from his speech was the state of unemployment in Elkhart and the RV Industry.

"Unfortunately with the downfall of the economy and the unemployment rate in particular, the unemployment rate is 12.4 percent now," said Jerrell Richer, Associate Professor of Economics at Goshen College. "Much higher than the national rate which is 7.2 percent."

That news is not surprising to Ida Grove.

She has watched the unemployment numbers month after month, after her husband lost his RV job six months ago.

"For the first time, I had to go to the food bank," Grove said. "I never had to before; I was there last week."

Words can't describe her family's plight, as she continues holding on to hope for work.

"I just don't know what to say," Grove said. "That's what Indiana is, the RV capital of the world, and there are no jobs."

While Kyle Hannon with the Elkhart Chamber admits there are challenges in the RV and related industries, he believes the challenges are much larger than the state's control.

"The challenges are larger than what the government/state could do," Hannon said. "You're talking about the gasoline prices, the credit crunch; those are larger issues than what the state can address."

Challenges, Hannon says, are widespread across Indiana.

"I really don't feel slighted because there are struggles in other parts of the state," Hannon said.

Meanwhile, laid off workers like Jeff Lemmon said Daniels has stepped in with programs and grants that have helped him and other families.

"I think the governor has done a lot already with the $6,000 grant for school," Lemmon said. "I know a lot of people who are taking advantage of that area, really hopeful to what that means to their lives in the future."

But, Richer says a long-term solution is diversifying.

"We can't wait for the government; we need to make these decision on our own," he said.