A story I just came across brings some good news: Factories have begun hiring. In fact, they are hiring at a rate that is about twice as fast as that of other private sector jobs. CNN Money says the growth is significant in part because it has been so long since we have seen a rise in manufacturing jobs:
“Manufacturing employment began its decline long before the recession, losing jobs every year since 1998. But since the start of this year, there’s been a 1.6% gain in manufacturing jobs — about twice the pace of growth in other private sector jobs.
“Even if manufacturing hiring stays flat the rest of this year, the industry is poised to post its biggest percentage gain in jobs since 1994.
” ‘In 2008 and 2009, manufacturers would not hire,’ said Norbert Ore, head of the Institute for Supply Management’s survey of manufacturers. ‘Today they’re willing to fill openings, willing to hire. Here and there, they’re adding a shift.’
“About 26% of manufacturing companies surveyed by ISM reported adding staff, compared to only 5% cutting workers. Only 13% of service sector employers said they were adding workers, while 18% are still cutting jobs. And the ISM index for manufacturing employment stands at a 35-year high.”
CNN Money quoted an economist for the National Association of Manufacturers who said the biggest gains have been in manufacturing related to cars, fabricated and primary metals, and machinery.
Problems are being seen on the horizon, however. Recently, the presidents of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine commissioned a report called “Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited: Rapidly Approaching Category 5.” It says:
- “In 2009, 51 percent of U.S. patents were awarded to non-U.S. companies.
- “China has replaced the U.S. as the world’s number one high-technology exporter and is now second in the world in publication of biomedical research articles.
- “Between 1996 and 1999, 157 new drugs were approved in the United States. In a corresponding period 10 years later, the number dropped to 74.
- “Almost one-third of U.S. manufacturing companies responding to a recent survey say they are suffering from some level of skills shortage.”
