Manufacturing Jobs - What You Need (and Want) to Know

Graph courtesy of Chad Moutray, National Association of Manufacturers, NAM.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of Jobs in Manufacturing increased by 180,000 in 2012.

“In December, manufacturing employment rose by 25,000, with small gains in a number of component industries. In 2012, factory employment increased by 180,000; most of the growth occurred during the first quarter.”

“In December, the average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 0.1 hour to 34.5 hours. The manufacturing workweek edged up by 0.1 hour to 40.7 hours, and factory overtime was unchanged at 3.3 hours.”

While there are signs that manufacturing employment gains have slowed down in the second half, those were connected to the economic uncertainties tied to the presidential election, fiscal cliff and global economic slowdown. Two of these three special causes are now behind us.

As the graph above shows, manufacturing is the place to look for employment gains.

The softness in manufacturing employment in the last half of 2012 belies the demand that our industry will have for talented workers going forward. As the BLS workweek hours indicate, manufacturing currently is using overtime to meet its needs. Given demographic trends, current lean staffing, and the push to reshore production, any economic upturn at all will be strongly bullish for employment prospects in Manufacturing in 2013.

Improvements in housing markets are already visible and a 15+ million auto sales forecast are two indicators that suggest if you want to find a well paying job in 2013, precision machining (advanced manufacturing) is a great place to apply.

Blog post originally from PMPA: Speaking of Precision