US manufacturing is experiencing resurgence as the market shifts following the recent recession period. Many companies that previously followed the practice of offshoring—moving their manufacturing facilities overseas or constructing new ones in areas where labor was cheaper than in America—are beginning to understand the appeal of bringing those plants back to the US. Somewhat surprisingly, the number of jobs available in the nation does not directly correspond with the resurgence of growth in the US manufacturing industry. This is due to a variety of factors, including a limited pool of skilled manufacturing workers and changing work conditions in America.
One of the major reasons for the renaissance of manufacturing in America is the ready availability of energy. The oil and gas boom created by harnessing the abundant resources found in parts of the nation containing reserves in shale fields has led to plenty of available domestic energy for a variety of purposes. This makes it easy to operate production facilities that require large amounts of energy. Another reason is the increase in global demands for American-made goods. US manufacturing has traditionally provided many luxury and staple products that are in high demand in other nations, driving up the amount of exports produced in the country. As the world also begins to recover from a period of near-global recession, demand for these goods continues to increase.
Manufacturing workers in America are now more desirable than ever. The recent recession left many workers unemployed, driving down wages as competition for manufacturing jobs increased. In other parts of the world, particularly in areas where companies practicing offshoring moved their manufacturing operations, the cost of living and local wages rose, narrowing the gap in the cost of hiring US manufacturing workers instead of foreign labor. This shift in the global labor market should have seen a spike in the number of manufacturing jobs available across the country, but there are reasons why it didn't.
The biggest reason is that US manufacturing facilities now produce more than ever with fewer workers. Automation and new methods of production have eliminated many positions that were previously available to new workers in the field. Modern manufacturing positions require extensive skill or education, and many of those jobs go unfilled because of the high competition for experienced workers and lack of trade skill training. Also, higher-paying jobs are often available in areas other than manufacturing for people with similar skill sets. A global decline in manufacturing work availability has often accompanied growth in the richer nations of the world.
US manufacturing is beginning a renaissance that could one day see America return to its place as one of the leaders in this key sector, but the market has changed dramatically over the years. The days of factories filled with workers may now be lost, and new manufacturing workers are often required to be more specialized than in generations past. The disparity between industry growth and jobs in US manufacturing seems to be largely due to facility modernization and a shift in the way factories and production facilities do business.
(Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net)
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