WASHINGTON—U.S. manufacturers have long grumbled about labor shortages, but the past year has proven particularly frustrating.

WASHINGTON—Job growth boomed in March at the fastest pace since last summer, as stronger economic growth and an aggressive vaccination effort contributed to a surge in hospitality, construction and manufacturing jobs, the Labor Department reported last Friday.

By the time you read this, President Donald Trump might finally have accepted reality and conceded the election. Or, there might be a coup or a zombie apocalypse; it's been that kind of year.

QUAKERTOWN, PA—Systems integrator Demco Automation has received a second consecutive Gold Medallion Award from the U.S. Department of Labor for recruiting, hiring and retaining veterans.

WASHINGTON—New orders for U.S.-made goods increased solidly in September, but further gains could be limited amid an anticipated slowdown in consumer spending as government money for businesses and workers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic runs out.

MESQUITE, TX—The FNA Group, a manufacturer of gas and electric powered generators, pressure washers and accessories, has opened a new 400,000 square-foot manufacturing and distribution center here.

Since the end of the Great Recession, U.S. manufacturing jobs increased steadily, from 11.5 million in December 2009 to 12.9 million in November 2019.

WAYNESBORO, VA—Virtex, an electronics manufacturing service provider to military, aerospace, and medical customers, is adding a new product line to its manufacturing facility here.

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN—A manufacturing program at Purdue University recently announced nearly $18 million in federal funding to expand its work with Indiana businesses.