Why Factories Are Having Trouble Filling Nearly 400,000 Open Jobs

[applegrove]

Why Factories Are Having Trouble Filling Nearly 400,000 Open Jobs

For every 20 positions, there’s one qualified candidate, says one manufacturing chief executive. Some of President Trump’s policies are likely to exacerbate the problem.

By Farah Stockman

June 23, 2025

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/23/business/factory-jobs-workers-trump.html

President Trump’s pledge to revive American manufacturing is running into the stubborn obstacle of demographic reality.

The pool of blue-collar workers who are able and willing to perform tasks on a factory floor in the United States is shrinking. As baby boomers retire, few young people are lining up to take their place. About 400,000 manufacturing jobs are currently unfilled, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics — a shortfall that will surely grow if companies are forced to rely less on manufacturing overseas and build more factories in the United States, experts say.

Difficulty attracting and retaining a quality work force has been consistently cited as a “top primary challenge” by American manufacturers since 2017, said Victoria Bloom, the chief economist at the National Association of Manufacturers, which produces a quarterly survey. Only recently has the issue slipped down on the list of challenges, superseded by trade-related uncertainty and increased raw material costs due to tariffs, Ms. Bloom said.

But the scarcity of skilled blue-collar workers remains a long-term problem, according to Ron Hetrick, an economist with Lightcast, a company that provides labor data to universities and industry.

[dalton99a]

1. Kick

In April, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent drew the ire of many federal employees when he suggested that American factories could get the labor they needed from the ranks of laid-off government workers. “We are shedding excess labor in the federal government,” he told Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host. “That will give us the labor we need for the new manufacturing.”

[Tree Lady]

2. Most young people I know

Want desk jobs online or easier jobs not labor intensive type work.

We have a ton of gardeners in my area, lots of retirees and most of them are over 40.

[Prairie Gates]

4. "easier" "not labor intensive"

[dalton99a]

8. +1. And most factory supervisors are uneducated assholes.

Typically a production worker who kissed ass and got promoted

[Midnight Writer]

12. I very much preferred "uneducated assholes" as supervisors.

At least they have some knowledge of the job, having risen through the ranks.

What frustrated me were the business majors who came in with no knowledge of the business or the job and got installed as supervisors. They not only did not know what they were doing, but they didn't care to learn. They would immediately make dramatic changes, "shake things up". They treated workers as peons, and would absolutely refuse to listen to the common-sense advice of people who have done these jobs every day for years.

Kinda like DOGE Bros.

[markodochartaigh]

15. I've been a registered nurse

since 1983. I saw the transition from hospitals run by doctors and nurses to hospitals run by mba's. Their mantra was "if you can manage a McDonald's you can manage a hospital". It got to where one third of all the money taken in by the very large hospital corporation for which I worked went to administration.
I could go on and on. Suffice it to say that when a hospital is run to make a profit for the management, making a profit becomes the only concern.

[Raven123]

33. Many years ago a hospital got rid of the orderlies

These were men who could lift and transport patients, and were especially helpful for those who couldn’t assist themselves and those who were heavy. The nurses, then mostly women, were supposed to perform their nursing duties AND transport patients. When they told me what happened I suggested they call the administration if they couldn’t perform the necessary task for physical or other patient care reasons. A lot of back injuries have been incurred by such stupidity.

[Emile]

13. and since they think they're superior, they been

programmed to believe that they are wealthy and must be a republican.

Many of them are penniless, but spend beyond their means just to impress people.

99.9% of these ass kissing coworkers are Republicans.

[electricmonk]

44. I left a job of 18 years

because of one of those. I was second shift supervisor. He was 1st shift super then he got promoted to department manager that put him over me. He was a grade A ass-kisser, always going to lunch with the big bosses or playing golf with them on the weekends but knew almost nothing about the actual manufacturing process. When he was supervisor he had his assistant do pretty much everything as far as the day to day operations. I was very good at my job both the technical and mechanical parts and keeping my shift workers happy and trained. When the other guy took over he was a micromanager. He would expect me to call him multiple times a night to check in and I wouldn't do it. I'm out on the floor working I don't have time for that crap. If an issue arose that I knew they would need to look at first thing in the morning sure I'd call but just normal stuff I wouldn't bother. Anyway, eventually I got so sick of it I quit. Like the old saying, people don't quit bad jobs they quit bad managers. I actually loved the job but was getting sick to my stomach before going in every day knowing I was going to have to deal with him for the first few hours of my shift.

And when I dropped my notice on him he said, "I know the perfect guy to bring in to replace you." There was at least 3 people there already that knew the work inside and out that would have been great in the position but he wanted to bring in one of his bowling buddies instead. Found out a year or so later that my replacement got canned for being a racist asshole to a couple of the workers.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

22. Almost all of ours in Naples, Florida that I see are Latino.

I don’t know how the construction, roofing, agricultural, gardening companies and restaurants are getting along. I think it’s the wealthy and connected are immune from their workers getting picked up. I still see construction going on - unfortunately. I have never seen any ICE agents here but apparently they are training people in a neighboring city to be iCE agents.

[electricmonk]

46. My brother works construction in Richmond Va

in a site manager/supervisor role. ICE visited their office and I'm not sure if they actually seized anyone or just scared all the workers off but the company decided to shut down that division because they have no more workers. My bother is going to stay on for another year to do warranty work but once everything is out of warranty he's out of a job. He's just going to make that his retirement date.

[MichMan]

43. You mean the type of jobs that can be replaced with AI?

[Wicked Blue]

3. One factor is the deliberate deterioration of the education system

The 'pukes have been hacking away at our education system for decades, with the result that too many high school students are illiterate and unable to do simple math.

[Hotler]

25. Five out of three people struggle with math. nt

[RandomNumbers]

32. Well played. nt

[UpInArms]

36. 2001 no child left behind

Was an abomination

Schools Went Test Crazy. Back when NCLB was being negotiated, there was broad agreement that we needed more transparency into how schools were doing and that schools needed to be more accountable for every student. Outside of the nation’s education schools and teacher unions, this was uncontroversial. Over the ensuing years, however, schools fixated on testing. Test prep, benchmark testing, test-based teacher evaluation, cheating scandals, and lots of game-playing around the meaning of “proficiency” gave the impression that schools had lost the thread of the plot.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/frederickhess/2022/09/21/its-been-20-years-since-no-child-left-behind-whatd-we-learn/

They just taught to “test” and quit teaching the subject

[Trueblue1968]

45. My math ... I can add, subtract, multiply and divide. I suck at algebra. Would they hire me ?? Im a 75 year old woman

[Prairie Gates]

5. They don't pay enough for people to want to do those jobs

Period.

People hate working in factories. They hate it. They've hated it throughout the history of industrialization.

You have to pay them and make it worth their while to learn the skill and put up with the soul-crushing repetition of factory labor.

If employers can't find workers, it's because they are not paying enough. If you pay them, they will come.

[haele]

10. The Chemical Workers song..

"There's Overtime And Bonus Opportunities Galore, The young men love their Money and they'll all come back for more"

?feature=shared

That's why people used to work factories. You showed you were skilled enough, you could afford to live in an apartment or boarding house and save your money for family or for when you couldn't work.
Now manufacturing work starts at minimum wage no matter your skill level, and no one wants to kill themselves to still live in a tent near the freeway or a creek.

[NickB79]

14. My factory pays $33/hr, and it's a Teamsters facility

Great insurance and a pension.

We make cottage cheese, yogurt and sour cream. It's not easy, but it's not farm labor or construction either. I've been there 20 years now, even though I have a college degree. With overtime I'm clearing close to $100K per year gross. I'm currently typing this from our break room since I'm putting in 60 hr this week.

We still struggle to attract and retain workers. We don't even require a HS diploma any longer, and hired a couple of guys with criminal records.

I'm not sure how much more we can pay and still keep the factory financially viable.

[biophile]

30. Just curious- how much of the company's revenue goes to management and CEO?

In my other post in this thread I mentioned mandatory OT as a potential block to recruiting. People today aren’t always motivated strictly by dollars and a 60 hour workweek is not attractive to many jobseekers.
The thing I also forgot to mention in that other post was the share of corporate revenue going to upper management instead of line employees and improving the company itself through infrastructure or thoughtful expansion.

[biophile]

28. This is correct

Years ago, young Americans with a HS education would work in factories or manual labor. Jobs then offered benefits, a 40 hour week, holidays, pensions, etc. The wages were enough to afford rent, a car, and food.
Wages have not kept up with the cost of living, benefits and pensions have disappeared, scheduled hours are either not regular, not dependable, or conversely too much (jobs demanding 24/7 on call or mandatory OT). Make it appealing and people will do it.

“They pay just enough to keep you from quitting and you work just enough to keep from being fired”

[multigraincracker]

38. Simple math, raise wages and benefits and

there will be an equal increase in good workers.
I worked 30 years in a factory. I retired at age 52 with a good pension. If I had been paid half as much with half the extras, I would not have stayed.

The most efficient business model is worker ownership. No one talks about that.

[bucolic_frolic]

6. Some factory jobs require IT or software skills

plus dedication and no attention deficit limitations.

Youngsters are too focused on tattoos for some of those things.

[mackdaddy]

7. Just a guess, but these companies probably don't offer a wage that people could actually live on.

The are used to paying third world wages after all.

[riversedge]

9. Union-paid factory workers make good salaries-many would say they are the

back bone jobs of the country--allows folks to buy homes, cars, vacations, schools etc and community projects.

But -are these folks happy. Sure many are. Happiness is a subjective term. I have know a lot of factory workers who would give you the shirt of their backs. Good people.

But some aspire to other jobs, other forms of happiness to be good members of their families and communities.

In the end, folks need a salary not only to live on--but to help them be happy, good people.

[multigraincracker]

39. I knew factory workers with degrees and even

Master degrees that couldn’t afford to quit that factory job to take a job in their field.

[uponit7771]

11. Pay more?!

[EllieBC]

29. Thank you. We were seeing a slow turn around here.

I’ve been pleasantly surprised lately to see recent HS grads going into trades programs. They figured out they can own a home and have a good life as a plumber, electrician, welder.

And exactly why did we have to become the party of pushing people into higher education which was seen as a snub to the working class? Makes no damn sense.

[MichMan]

41. Snobs that looked down on blue collar workers

and think they are superior and more intelligent because they work in an office.

[Arazi]

42. Blue collar work is punishing on one's body

Most are broken and in chronic pain by the time they’re 55 or so.

There’s good reasons blue collar parents want their kids to go to college and avoid the trades

[Arazi]

49. I was responding to Elle's post specifically mentioning plumber, electrician,welder

I guarantee you those trades along with carpenters, masons, roofers, pipe fitters, mechanics, painters etc break people much earlier than anyone doing an email job.

[haele]

34. Parents want their kids to have better lives than them.

Which, at least when I was growing up, typically put education high on the list as a more educated youngster could realize more opportunities to make a good living doing what they wanted to do rather than what their background might limit them to do.
Sort of a Andrew Carnegie myth; a humble but educated worker (Carnegie started out as a mill worker that took a clerk's position opening) could become a millionaire by understanding the world around them and taking advantage of hidden opportunities that they find could either make their work more efficient or help them gain a trusted position where they could either lead or start their own business.
Education is supposed to enhance logical thinking/troubleshooting, curiosity and imagination. That's why most civilized countries try to keep the cost of education down, considering it an investment for good economies.
My maternal family were immigrants; fishermen/sailors, coal miners, and "servants/retail staff"; my paternal family was still remaking itself after being somewhat devastated during the Civil War.
But no matter their situation, Education was seen as important to seize the opportunities to start up a local Barbershop, or handyman/repair business, to learn a foreign language to be able to communicate with other immigrant communities and migrant workers, to realize opportunities for side gigs, or just not be conned by traveling salesmen, lawyers, or "financial experts" looking to separate marks from their money or property.
Nothing wrong with being a plumber or hairdresser, or insurance salesperson.
But it is better to be a well-rounded enough that one can deal with odd customer requests or unexpected issues that can easily lead to a loss of sales, reputation, or other disasters.
Education is supposed to expand one's world, not limit it by mortgaging 10 to 30 years of your life for the potential benefit if you don't come from a certain "class". Unfortunately, that's where Education in the US is now.

[twodogsbarking]

17. New Headline.......

Most of President Trump’s policies are likely to exacerbate all problems.

[Blue Full Moon]

18. Living wage

[Jacson6]

19. These companies will not hire people unemployed for a long period or if they are disabled.

I've tried to get employment in manufacturing and service jobs, but I have a disability so they never hire me over the last two decades. They don't tell you to your face that they won't hire you to your face to avoid lawsuits, but when you submit your resume and if you get a interview they don't hire you. I've known dozens of disabled people that have faced the same prejudice. No attorney will take your case unless their is a statement in writing saying they won't hire you because of your disability.

EDIT: BTW, I have worked in many manufacturing jobs and service jobs before I became disabled.

[Littlered]

20. Not the case here.

Any factory jobs available, are snatched right up.

[Aristus]

21. A product of fifty years of right-wing union busting.

Fuck around, and find out.

Here's the plan, guys (which you will totally ignore because you are irredeemably stupid, greedy assholes) :

1. Better pay.
2. Safer working conditions.
3. More paid time off.
4. Paid paternity/maternity leave.
5. Medical insurance plans that actually pay for quality medical care.
6. Support for labor unions.
7. Advocacy for labor union apprenticeship programs.
8. A path to citizenship for immigrant laborers.

[Lurker Deluxe]

23. Love these conversations ....

I have been "blue collar" all my life, and in every instance I have been pressured into "moving up" and in some instances forced to do so.

Leading me to move on.

In my current job, a service tech, which I have been at for 9 years I was recently (10 weeks ago) forced into taking a "regional service manager" position.

As a service tech I made $40/hour and worked 50 hours a week and an on call bonus for the weekends being on call, generally once a month and an extra $250 even if no call happened. A little math here: base pay $40X2080 = $83K 500 hours of overtime at $60/hour = $30K for a nice $115k+/- a buck or three. If I had to go on a call out on a weekend or after hours it paid 4 hours minimum even if it took an hour. Full benefits, 401K matched at 6%, 11 paid holidays, 3 weeks PTO (at 9 years which would top out at 4.5 weeks at 15 years), company vehicle, paid uniforms (including cleaning) paid cell phone, home internet, and tablet.

I was happy.

But hey, now I am management and have a nice $125K salary. Good ... right?

Now I am working 7 days a week, my phone rings constantly, and I have to deal with tons, I mean tons, of inter-office politics and constant complaints from customers. My sanity, as well as my health, is moving in the wrong direction. Because of loyalty I will get these jackwads through the summer, our busy time, before moving on ... yet again.

We pay very well, $25/hour (with overtime $60K) to start. Hiring anyone under 40 is futile, they take off more work (unscheduled) every month then I do for a year and complain constantly ... constantly. Can not solve simple problems and have the highest rate of rework and customer complaints.

Lack of learning, no interest to grow (I have been here a year and I still make XXX), going to work everyday, and not investing in yourself keeps you at that entry level position.

Those that think trades pay crap wages are either poorly informed or just plain lying. Sure, there are crap jobs out there, but they are getting very hard to find. Poor working conditions, unsafe practices (301A anyone), crap wages, and bad bosses get you labor shortages and you go out of business being replaced by those who do better.

The trades pay very well, and are generally easier, than any middle management job ... if you add up the actual hours spent working and the stress. Sure, you have to be healthy, dependable, and able to problem solve so not anyone can do it, and many fail ... just like anything else. Married? Neglect your spouse, do not put in the effort ... single.

I know a lot of people, the happiest people I know are trades people.

Thee reason there is a lack of trades people is the bullshit narrative like this pushed by others. I have heard it all my life ... "when are you going to get a real job"? When I can afford it ... right now I cannot afford the pay cut.

Ohh ... and I got pretty stickers and a note during the pandemic that I was essential, did not miss a days pay ...

Tradesperson ... for the win.

[JustAnotherGen]

27. When rude people

Ask how we can afford such and such - I love saying:

My husband is a blacksmith and designer.

[Martin Eden]

24. Here's a solution: deport millions of immigrants who would fill those jobs

[murielm99]

26. Offer on the job training.

Don't expect them to come to the job fully skilled. That is stupid.

[Wingus Dingus]

31. This is it. They used to train people to do their jobs, now they

want you to show up with your own paid-for education or training PLUS experience, because training employees from scratch eats into profits. Edit to add: I know this firsthand because most of my older relatives never went to college--just headed down to the steel mills and glass factories and plastics factories after graduation and eventually earned good union wages.

[-misanthroptimist]

35. There are two reasons:

1. Companies used to train employees up to fill higher positions in the company. This has now been outsourced to the individual -at great cost to those individuals.

2. Companies don't pay enough in wages, particularly since the individuals now have pay off the debt they incurred to get trained.

It's a lousy system that began under Reagan.

[viva la]

37. Hire people and train them.

There are not going to be 20 already trained-on-this-job applicants.

Employers used to hire teachable workers and then teach them. Now I see ads like:
Auto-Parts Store customer service. 4 years auto parts experience needed. $15/hr.

No joke-- I just saw that last week. Someone with 4 years of experience should be hired as assistant manager at least.

[Happy Hoosier]

40. Well with...

… mediocre pay, shitty benefits, and low job security, I wonder why people would be reluctant.

[Mysterian]

50. Do these factory jobs pay a living wage and provide good health insurance plans?

Didn't think so.

[ImNotGod]

51. for 100 bucks an hour and a get out of jail free card from scotus I may just come out of retirement. nt

[krawhitham]

52. Pay more and they will come