Life After Layoffs: A City's Struggle to Survive (Elkhart, IN)

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Life After Layoffs: A City's Struggle to Survive
Barbershops Offer Discounts for the Unemployed in This Hard-Hit Community
By SCOTT MAYEROWITZ
ABC NEWS Business Unit
Feb. 9, 2009



Elkhart, Ind. has been hit hard by the recession. Unemployment here rose faster than any other part of the country in the last year thanks to the closing of several RV factories. (ABC Photo Illustration)

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Politics/story?id=6835247&page=1

Based on ABC News calculations of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Elkhart's unemployment rate jumped has more than tripled in the last 12 months -- it's the highest increase of any metropolitan area in the country.

After 32 years with Monaco Coach, Neufeldt finds himself on unemployment, searching for a new job when most local companies are laying people off.

"We were one of the big corporations around the area. The building was one of the biggest buildings in northern Indiana," Neufeldt told ABC News recently. "When it shut down, it was a big shock to everyone."

When his unemployment runs out, Neufeldt said he hopes to find a job "washing dishes or sweeping floors or something."