Colleges are Adding Programs in a Once-Decimated Industry: Manufacturing
RANDOLPH CIRCLE, VT—Despite President Donald Trump’s campaign vow to revive manufacturing, the industry isn’t expected to rebound to its heyday. At its peak in the late 1970s, it employed 19 million people. Today, the sector employs roughly 12.4 million; the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that number will fall slowly over the next decade to 11.6 million.
But, the strong economy, and the return of manufacturing operations to the United States as labor costs rise abroad, have led some companies to add jobs. There were about 360,000 hires in January 2018, an increase of 52,000 over the year before, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.