By Marilyn Odendahl, Truth Staff
modendahl@etruth.com
LaGRANGE -- Beth Sherman, executive director of the LaGrange County Chamber of Commerce, worries the March unemployment figures are an indicator of higher rates to come.
The jobless rate in the rural county leaped from 17.7 percent in February to 18.9 percent in March, according to figures released Friday from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. LaGrange's sudden rise knocked Elkhart County from the top position for unemployment in Indiana.
The reason?
Amish community members, who have lost their jobs in the local manufacturing plants, have begun filing unemployment claims with the DWD. And that has Sherman concerned that if the economic recession continues, LaGrange County's unemployment rate could "go through the roof."
Like the rest of the work force, the Amish are suffering through lay-offs and plant closures. They have gotten permission from some of the bishops to get state assistance, said LeRoy Mast, director of the Menno-Hof Center in Shipshewana.
"So many people have lost jobs that within the faith community, it's getting difficult to support their needs," Mast said. "The unemployment program becomes a necessity."
In Elkhart County, Larry Andrews, executive director of the Nappanee Area Chamber of Commerce, has also been told the Amish are starting to draw unemployment, but he does not anticipate the county's jobless rate will increase much as a result.
The number of idled workers in Elkhart County did grow during March, to 18.8 percent from 18.0 percent in February, the DWD reported. Indiana also recorded a rise in unemployment to 10.6 percent while the nation hit 9.0 percent.
More than the pain the sustained economic recession is inflicting on the Amish community, the unemployment rate reflects the number of Amish who make a living in the recreational vehicle and manufactured housing facilities.
"I think it does tell us the resources for the Amish are not from the farm," Andrews said. "The resources for a majority of them are coming from manufacturing jobs."
To Joe Pierce, president and chief executive officer of Farmers State Bank in LaGrange, having the Amish enroll for unemployment benefits is a sign of the length and depth of this downturn. During past recessions, the Amish did not apply for help because the lay-offs were not as widespread.
However, Pierce noted unemployment numbers "tend to be lagging indicators" and already he has noticed a small upswing in business activity. Some companies are calling workers back or no longer putting them on furlough.
Also, Amish furniture-making operations, which sell their products across the country, are starting to get busy again, Pierce said.
Consequently, he expects the high unemployment rate to remain for another month or two but does not foresee another dramatic increase.