VONORE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- An east Tennessee factory recently hit hard by job cuts and furloughs is putting 175 workers back on the job.

It's especially good news for Monroe County where the unemployment rate is one of the highest in the state.

Starting today, Mastercraft is building boats again.

They're recalling 175 workers in steps over the next few weeks.

It's really good news for those who are coming back and for a community who relies on jobs to keep their businesses going.

"I was glad. Thank God. I'm thankful that I have a job," says Regina Roberts who went back to work today at Mastercraft.

Roberts is elated she's back to work at Mastercraft after being laid off for many weeks.

She found unemployment a humbling experience.

"You learned to cut back. You learned to cut back on the little things you used to enjoy like going out to eat," says Roberts.

Workers are being recalled after the company experienced their best ever year which ended a year ago when the economy took a hit followed by the banking credit crunch.

"What was about 650 employees this time last year down to as low as 40 employees right about January," says Mastercraft President and CEO John Dorton.

The company essentially stopped production after financial institutions stopped providing floor plans for dealers.

Mastercraft then worked to reduce it's inventory.

Now with few boats available, Dorton says customers are trying to get Mastercraft boats.

"and so the dealers began to reorder boats and that's what we've started as of today with our 2010 model year launch," says Dorton.

The unemployment rate has been taking a toll on local businesses.

"I felt it. We was down twenty to thirty percent on all these factories. They all laid off," says Hall.

Charles Hall has had his store near the industrial park since 1965 and he knows the meaning of 175 people being recalled at Mastercraft.

"That's great news to me. I mean, it's just more business, more people hired, the more money we get," says local business owner Charles Hall.

Last June, Mastercraft was making 21 boats a day.

Now, the plan is five or six.

But for Dorton, it's a start.

"Every morning I walk, I walk in. I look at those empty parking spots and know my job is to get those things filled again," says Dorton.

Dorton says the credit issue is getting better, especially with some local banks now getting involved with Mastercraft dealers and their floor plans.

So will there be future recalls?

Dorton says that's not something anybody really knows for sure.

He says the market will dictate that but he says he's optimistic.