makers like jayco, damon, and coachmen industries pink-slipped thousands of workers. by the spring of last year, the unemployment rate in elkhart county reached 19%. then early last fall, the r.v. industry made a u-turn. dealers started restocking their lots again. so, r.v. manufacturers started rehiring. today elkart county's unemployment rate is just over 15%. the president of the county's economic development corporation is encouraged by the improvement in the r.v. industry, but she's cautious about a full-blown recovery. >> one never knows what the future is, but we see that this is going to take some time to get out of. >> reporter: that's the sentiment at elkhart bedding company. the family-owned firm makes mattresses for the r.v. industry and cut its staff in half when orders collapsed in 2008. while orders have picked up in recent months, owner chris darr says the recession has him reevaluating how he runs his business. >> the industry has been very good to our business and our family and i think we've been a good supplier to the industry and we will continue