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The myth of the manufacturing jobs renaissance [View all]
https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/08/economy/manufacturing-jobs/index.html
New York (CNN Business)US manufacturing jobs have disappeared. They won't be coming back.
The Trump administration wants voters to believe in a US manufacturing renaissance -- proof of economic success as America barrels toward election day.
President Trump in his State of the Union address Tuesday once again took credit for "restoring our Nation's manufacturing," claiming that the United States "has gained 12,000 new factories under my administration, with thousands upon thousands of plants and factories being planned or built. We have created over half a million new manufacturing jobs."
Those numbers are largely accurate, and US factory activity expanded in January. But the manufacturing industry is hemorrhaging jobs, losing more than 4 million over the past twenty years. The problem is growth is concentrated in a few outlier industries -- pharmaceuticals, computers, semiconductors -- that boost output while employing only a fraction of the workers in traditional factories.
Those jobs aren't coming back
Despite the White House's promises, nothing will restore a 1960s-style mass employment on the assembly lines. The new manufacturing reality is an industry of specialized high-tech work that requires less manpower, or lower paid, non-union jobs.
The jobs growth Trump cites is coming from emerging US industries -- such as American shale -- or were sparked by a post-recession shopping-spree for items already produced domestically, like cars.
Other industries are hurting.
New York (CNN Business)US manufacturing jobs have disappeared. They won't be coming back.
The Trump administration wants voters to believe in a US manufacturing renaissance -- proof of economic success as America barrels toward election day.
President Trump in his State of the Union address Tuesday once again took credit for "restoring our Nation's manufacturing," claiming that the United States "has gained 12,000 new factories under my administration, with thousands upon thousands of plants and factories being planned or built. We have created over half a million new manufacturing jobs."
Those numbers are largely accurate, and US factory activity expanded in January. But the manufacturing industry is hemorrhaging jobs, losing more than 4 million over the past twenty years. The problem is growth is concentrated in a few outlier industries -- pharmaceuticals, computers, semiconductors -- that boost output while employing only a fraction of the workers in traditional factories.
Those jobs aren't coming back
Despite the White House's promises, nothing will restore a 1960s-style mass employment on the assembly lines. The new manufacturing reality is an industry of specialized high-tech work that requires less manpower, or lower paid, non-union jobs.
The jobs growth Trump cites is coming from emerging US industries -- such as American shale -- or were sparked by a post-recession shopping-spree for items already produced domestically, like cars.
Other industries are hurting.
Video and more info at link. States Trump stole in 2016 have been losing manufacturing jobs. We have a fighting chance to flip them back this year.
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