A persistent theme in the business press is the presence of a skills gap in America. Thousands of U.S. manufacturing jobs are unfilled because there are simply not enough qualified workers.
CHAMPAIGN, IL—For years, employers, pundits and policymakers alike have bemoaned the lack of qualified workers available to fill vacant manufacturing jobs in the U.S. However, a new study indicates that demand for higher-level skills in U.S. manufacturing jobs is generally modest, and three-quarters of U.S. manufacturing plants show no sign of hiring difficulties for open positions.
WASHINGTON—The overall market added 255,000 new jobs in July, well ahead of forecasts of about 185,000. The three-month average is now up to 190,000, with the unemployment rate still at 4.9 percent. Manufacturing added 9,000 jobs in the month, and was the beneficiary of an upward revision for June from 14,000 to 15,000.
Manufacturing today is leaner and greener than ever. Many engineers are focusing on lightweight materials and sustainable production initiatives. In addition, additive manufacturing is transforming how a wide variety of products are designed and assembled.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2.3 million people are incarcerated across America. In fact, we have the highest incarceration rate in the world, at 698 per 100,000 of population.
TEMPE, AZ—The U.S. manufacturing sector resumed growth in March, bolstered by strength in new orders. The Institute for Supply Management said its index of national factory activity rose to 51.8 from 49.5 the month before. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the manufacturing sector and a reading below 50 indicates contraction.
It is too little and too late to keep writing “manufacturing matters.” Everything else in the economy is secondary to manufacturing, mining and farming. Only these activities build wealth.
NEW YORK—U.S. industrial companies rented or purchased 62.9 million square feet of space in the fourth quarter of 2015, up 9.1 percent from the previous quarter and up 0.5 percent from the fourth quarter of a year ago, according to commercial real estate firm Cushman and Wakefield. The vacancy rate of industrial property in the US is now at a 15-year low.
DETROIT—A new study has found that factory robots have not hindered manufacturing job growth, but added to it. Between the end of 2009 and the end of 2014, 62 corporations with collectively the largest installed base of robots added 1.25 million new jobs to their payroll, an overall increase of more than 20 percent.
WASHINGTON—U.S. manufacturers added 29,000 new jobs in January, after a net gain of just 33,000 in all of 2015, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
