Governor Mitch Daniels is applauding the RV industry for its comeback in Elkhart County.
Daniels met with industry leaders Friday to talk about jobs, productivity and the future of the industry so crucial to the local economy.
Elkhart County's RV were the poster child of the country's recession. Today, Daniels says the RV industry and Elkhart County are examples of Indiana making a comeback.
Daniels boasts 83 percent of all recreational vehicles are now built in Indiana ... Up from the mid 60s before the recession. How does that compute? "Five of every six RV's in the nation are built right here in Indiana," Daniels touts.
Doug Gaddert, Forest River general manager, says since 2009 his company has added 3,500 jobs and now Forest River employs about 8,500 people. Perhaps his biggest problem is finding qualified workers.
At its peak, Elkhart County's unemployment rate was about 20 percent. As of the last report, the rate was down to 9.9 percent, but that's still about double the unemployment rate from before the recession.
