RV sector in Elkhart County employs 59.5% of the workers at the top 20 employers

Leaders here have long lauded the RV industry, one of the major employers and a key motor in the local economy. They’ve also sought to diversify the economy so the hit isn’t so hard when the sector — particularly vulnerable when the economy goes south — suffers.

That — economic diversification — is the broad focus of the third and final part of our series, Five Years Later, a look at the devastating impact of the Great Recession and where we go from here. Stay tuned, the new installment is coming later this month.

• Five Years Later, Part I — Where are we now, five years after the Great Recession ended?
• Five Years Later, Part II — In the bad old days, Elkhart turned into a poster child for the recession

Meanwhile, here’s some germane data from the Economic Development Corp. of Elkhart County on the top 20 employers in the county. The preponderance of RV makers and RV suppliers is pretty noteworthy — they account for nearly 60 percent of the workforce in the 20 firms, underscoring the sector’s dominance here.