Manufacturing jobs becoming more skilled and heavily reliant on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. 

WASHINGTON, May 9, 2012 – The U.S. Commerce Department’s Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA) today released “The Benefits of Manufacturing Jobs,” an analysis of wages and benefits of manufacturing workers, which finds that total hourly compensation for manufacturing workers is 17 percent higher than for non-manufacturing workers.  This includes premiums in both wages and employer-provided benefits, such as health insurance and retirement plans.

The report finds that in addition to higher compensation for manufacturing jobs, the share of manufacturing workers with more than a high school degree has been steadily increasing, and now more than half of all manufacturing workers have at least some college education.  Further, manufacturing jobs are more STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) intensive than non-manufacturing industries.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, manufacturing employment has expanded by nearly 500,000 jobs or 4 percent since January 2010 — the strongest cyclical rebound since the wake of the dual recessions in the early 1980s.

“Today’s report is welcome and important news on America’s job front: manufacturing employment means higher wages and important benefits for Americans and their families,” said Commerce Secretary John Bryson.  “My priority as Commerce Secretary is to support American manufacturers in building things here and selling them everywhere, and today’s analysis underscores the importance of the resurgence in U.S. manufacturing to our middle class.

This report reaffirms that manufacturing is a matter of fundamental importance to our country’s economic strength, so we must do everything we can to continue to build an overall environment where U.S. manufacturing can flourish, and that means we need to stop rewarding companies that ship jobs overseas, and start rewarding those that bring jobs back to the U.S., as President Obama has asked Congress to do.”

Specific findings from “The Benefits of Manufacturing Jobs” include:

• On average, hourly wages and salaries for manufacturing jobs are $29.75 an hour compared to $27.47 an hour for non-manufacturing jobs. Total hourly compensation, which includes employer-provided benefits, is $38.27 for workers in manufacturing jobs and $32.84 for workers in non-manufacturing jobs, a 17 percent premium.
• Even after controlling for demographic, geographic, and job characteristics, manufacturing jobs maintained significant wage and benefit premiums.
• The educational attainment of the manufacturing workforce is rising steadily.  In 2011, 53 percent of all manufacturing workers had at least some college education, up from 43 percent in 1994.
• The innovative manufacturing sector relies more heavily on STEM education than non-manufacturing.  For instance, nearly 1 out of 3 (32 percent) college-educated manufacturing workers has a STEM job, compared to 10 percent in non-manufacturing.
• Higher educational attainment for manufacturing workers carries higher premiums and the size of the premium, including or excluding benefits, increases consistently with educational attainment.
• Furthermore, the compensation premium has risen over the past decade across all levels of educational attainment.

In April, the Commerce Department released “Intellectual Property and the U.S. Economy: Industries in Focus,” a comprehensive report co-produced by ESA and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) which found that IP-intensive industries support at least 40 million jobs and contribute more than $5 trillion dollars to U.S. gross domestic product (GDP).

A full copy of the new ESA manufacturing employment report can be found online at

http://www.esa.doc.gov/Reports/benefits-manufacturing-jobs.

WoodIndustryEd.org is targeted to students, educators and industry professionals interested in the wood products manufacturing and related industries. Whether you are seeking to enhance your skills, connect with industry events, locate job listings or compete in a competition, WoodIndustryEd.org is where you can get started.

DID YOU KNOW. . .

• Wood is our most sustainable resource.
• Approximately 10 million skilled worker jobs need to be filled as aging boomers retire.
• The U.S. is the world’s largest manufacturer.
• 91% of students say they would work harder if coursework included hands-on skill classes

North Brunswick-based manufacturer XPAK USA has developed machinery that can, among other things, help PepsiCo robotically bundle different flavors of Gatorade into one package.

Who knows how much faster it could grow if it could find the skilled workers it needs to keep up with its expansion.

“It seems like we are growing, it seems like the economy is coming along, which makes us very happy,” owner Tami Minond said. “But it seems like a machinist is a rare bird in New Jersey.”

The plight of XPAK shines a spotlight on the possibility that those who were once ready to write off the manufacturing sector in favor of other fields made a bad bet.

Manufacturers “are coming back,” said Meredith Aronson, director of the New Jersey Advanced Manufacturing Talent Network. “The companies I talk to are scared. Their orders are increasing, but they simply can’t find the workers.”

The situation calls for educators and employers to get creative, Aronson said, whether it is by sharing training costs or tapping into veterans who are returning home from war with the type of discipline, team building and modern skills that could translate to manufacturers.

Manufacturers have been a bright spot in the nation’s slow economic recovery by adding jobs, from February 2010 to February 2012, at a faster pace than the rest of the economy, according to the U.S. Labor Department.

As the industry sees growth, policymakers and educators are scrambling to train workers to fill a growing number of manufacturing jobs.

READ MORE

Beginning in the 1970s America’s high-paying manufacturing jobs in the steel, textile, electronics and automotive industries relocated first south to Latin America and then east to Asia.

In what some dubbed “a global race to the bottom,” labor rights have dwindled all along the way and the American middle class, long sustained by those manufacturing jobs, finds itself gutted. Now the fate of what is left of the American middle class is at the center of a presidential election and forcing a reexamination of the impact of the global decline of labor rights.

But after years of pain for America’s manufacturing sector and its workers, some economists and analysts are wondering if the tide may be turning.

Call it “re-shoring” or “rebalancing” or just “revenge,” but the dynamics of global labor, transportation and productivity costs that eviscerated American manufacturing over the past decade have begun to shift again.

Over the past few years, some key American manufacturers have either brought jobs back to the US from Asia and Latin America, or have made important decisions not to relocate them in the first place.

READ MORE

AWFS contacted the sponsors and organized the donations on behalf of SkillsUSA California. The student competitors and their advisors also received a complimentary copy of fresh wood, the AWFS publication that showcases the Fresh Wood student woodworking competition.

About AWFS:

The Association of Woodworking & Furnishings Suppliers® (AWFS), founded in 1911, is a non-profit organization that wholly owns and produces the biennial AWFS®Fair. The largest trade association serving the entire home and commercial furnishings industry, AWFS has more than 400 members, including manufacturers and distributors of machinery, hardware, software, tooling, lumber, components, wood products and supplies for the woodworking industry including cabinet, furniture, millwork and custom woodworking products.

Manufacturing Institute and Partners Increase Credentialed Workforce

Industry-based certifications aim to close skills gap, increase access to employment, and develop future workforce 

The Manufacturing Institute (the Institute) and its partners have announced significant progress towards achieving a five-year goal to  award 500,000 industry-based credentials to individuals, positioning them for employment and advancement in manufacturing jobs. Over the past  year, the certification bodies partnered with the Institute have issued 84,738 certifications to students and incumbent workers that cover in-demand, portable skill-sets necessary across multiple manufacturing sectors.  With as many as 600,000 manufacturing jobs going unfilled today, this is an important step in getting unemployed Americans back to work and maintaining the competitiveness of our manufacturing economy.

“The Institute remains committed to building the educated and skilled workforce our nation’s manufacturers need to stay competitive,” said Jennifer McNelly, president, The Manufacturing Institute.  “We are partnering with world-class industry certification bodies and community colleges, because they can and are delivering  the in-demand skills for today’s innovation and productivity-driven workplaces.”

On June 8, 2011, President Obama announced key steps towards building the educated and skilled workforce U.S. manufacturers need to successfully compete in the 21st century economy, citing The Manufacturing Institute’s Manufacturing Skills Certification System, endorsed by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), and the certifications it includes, as a national solution.  The Institute continues to work with high schools, community colleges, and employers to create for-credit education programs incorporating these national certifications so individuals get the skills and hand-on training they need for in-demand entry-level and specialized jobs in manufacturing.

Read the full press release.

 Certifying Talent for Manufacturers

The Institute is working with community colleges to certify individuals with industry-based credentials in for-credit degree programs of study and for-credit fast-track programs that integrate portable credentials, internships, and links to employment.

113 colleges are currently partnering with the Institute to stand up these programs, integrating the industry-endorsed standards and content of world-class certification bodies. 34 state and regional manufacturing associations are partnering with the Institute and endorsing the certification programs as the preferred source for skilled manufacturing talent.

The NAM-Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System is a system of stackable secondary and post-secondary credentials needed to enter and advance in manufacturing careers. These nationally portable, industry-recognized credentials validate the skills and competencies needed to be productive and successful in any manufacturing environment. The credentialing partners that comprise the Skills Certification System are ACT, the American Welding Society, the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council, the National Institute of Metalworking Skills, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, International Society of Automation, the Packaging Machinery Manufacturing Institute, the International Fluid Power Society, the National Center for Construction Education and Research, the American Society for Quality, the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association, APICS The Association for Operations Management, the American Society of Transportation and Logistics, and the North American Die Casting Association.

About The Manufacturing Institute

The Manufacturing Institute (the Institute) is the 501 (c) 3 affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers. As a non-partisan organization, the Institute is committed to delivering leading-edge information and services to the nation’s manufacturers. The Institute focuses on developing human capital strategies through education reform and workforce development, conducting applied research to provide critical information to public policy makers on challenges and opportunities for today’s industry, and advancing the innovation capacity of manufacturers operating in a global market. Visit www.themanufacturinginstitute.org.

The NAM’s A Manufacturing Renaissance: Four Goals for Economic Growth also highlights the importance of closing the skills gap.

The NAM’s four-point plan for economic growth and jobs, which will enable the U.S. to compete and succeed in the global economy.

Goal 1: The United States will be the best place in the world to manufacture and attract foreign direct investment.

Goal 2: The United States will expand access to global markets to enable manufacturers to reach the 95 percent

of consumers who live outside our borders.

Goal 3: Manufacturers in the United States will have the workforce that the 21st-century economy requires.

Goal 4: Manufacturers in the United States will be the world’s leading innovators.

Informed investment and business planning decisions require timely analysis of key U.S. government economic data and manufacturing industry trends. An accurate view of the manufacturing economic outlook is essential for policymakers to make informed and supportive decisions that promote the competitiveness of manufacturers in the United States. The NAM’s economist breaks down complex data into straightforward, usable nuggets of information. His in-depth insight provides a comprehensive look at manufacturing industry trends and the current state of the manufacturing economy in America.

A group called RATE –  Reducing America’s Taxes Equitably – launched in September 2011. Its members are companies and trade organizations advocating “sound and equitable reforms to the U.S. corporate tax code,” and hoping “to restore America’s competitiveness so the U.S. once again becomes a destination for investment, job creation and strong economic growth.”

Over the last month, the number of members in the group has risen from 13 to 16. Among them are a number of corporate heavy hitters, including AT&T, Boeing, and Verizon. Trade organizations belonging include the Association of American Railroads and
the National Retail Federation. Co-chairs are Dr. Elaine Kamarck, former advisor to President Clinton and Vice President Gore, and James P. Pinkerton, former advisor to Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

The group points out that the U.S. corporate tax rate, at 35 percent, is noticeably higher than the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development)  average of 25.3 percent. A study prepared by Ernst & Young for the RATE Coalition finds that the U.S. rate is second only to Japan among the world’s 50 largest economies.

RATE also points to a 2008 OECD study that indicates that corporate income taxes can have a negative effect on corporate
investment, and can distort corporate financing decisions – no surprise to most corporate finance professionals.

As the Coalition also notes, the current corporate tax system has been crafted so that it favors certain industries and sectors over others. “A vital center of constructive compromise can be found by reforming the corporate tax system, thereby reducing the corporate tax competitiveness gap. This new vital center is premised on our lowering the corporate tax rate and, as needed, eliminating loopholes at the same time,” wrote RATE’s co-chairs in an op-ed on Politico.com earlier this month.

RATE’s interest in a lower corporate rate, potentially bolstered by a broader corporate tax base, is supported by many studies and elected officials from both major parties. It’s one piece of a tax solution, along with reforms to individual taxes, that could help get the U.S. economy moving.

Election Day – November 6, 2012 – NAM Election Center

DID YOU KNOW?
Taken Alone, U.S. Manufacturing Would be the 9th Largest Economy in the World

Manufacturing Has A Presence in Every Congressional District in the United States

U.S. Manufacturing Performs Two-Thirds of All R&D’s in the Nation

U.S. Manufacturing Produces 1.6 Trillion of Value Each Year or 11.2% of U.S. GDP