Economic Outlook: Manufacturing Day 2018

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Last month, most of the communities in our region hosted a Manufacturing Day event, inviting students to leave the classroom and see firsthand what today’s manufacturing jobs look like. While there, students also got to hear directly from employees about their career path and necessary training. Manufacturing Day aims to address common misconceptions about manufacturing by giving manufacturers an opportunity to open their doors and show, in a coordinated effort, what manufacturing is – and what it isn’t.

In our region, about one out of every four people work in Manufacturing. More people work in Manufacturing than in any other industry. Elkhart County leads the way, with more than 40% of its workers in the field, but you can see from the accompanying chart it’s a critical part of the economy in each county.

Total Manufacturing Employment
Total Employment
% of Total
County Workforce
Elkhart County, IN
64,235
155,889
41.2%
Kosciusko County, IN
14,803
48,800
30.3%
Marshall County, IN
7,521
25,384
29.6%
Cass County, MI
6,313
22,746
27.8%
Berrien County, MI
13,767
69,448
19.8%
LaPorte County, IN
7,650
53,386
14.3%
St. Joseph County, IN
15,784
160,706
9.8%
Total
130,073
536,359
24.25%
Source: US Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2016 (Stats Indiana and DATA USA)

To read the full Economic Outlook Blog Post, written by Jeff Rea, President & CEO of the South Bend Regional Chamber, Click Here.