Understanding the reasons for unemployment statistics can be maddening. When you’re out of work and you hear that there has been slow or no growth in any given month it can be difficult to want to keep searching. However, there are more to the unemployment numbers than just the percentages. For instance, Manufacturing has been growing steadily and July of 2012 saw the highest number of new manufacturing jobs since 2009. Here are some of the factors and what to look out for in the manufacturing market.
- 25,000 jobs added in July. The US department of labor reported that the manufacturing sector added 25,000 new jobs in the month of July alone. June only saw an increase of 11,000 manufacturing jobs. The primary areas included transportation equipment and metal fabrication.
- “Goods Producing” Jobs. The Department of Labor maintains a broad definition of manufacturing jobs and includes construction and mining in their job census. Construction lost a negligible number of jobs in July.
- Highest level of employment since 2009. There are approximately 11.9 million individuals employed in manufacturing positions in the US right now. In April of 2009, 12.03 workers were employed in these fields. The extreme job loss between 2009 and 2012 is starting to recover and the gap is being lessened.
- Double the government jobs. In spite of the good news in the manufacturing market, the growth is still modest compared to other sectors. Government jobs employ nearly 21.9 million workers.
- Math skills are desirable. Many employers still indicate that they are unable to find suitable employees for their manufacturing environments. Poor math skills are keeping a lot of employees from getting jobs. Brush up on your math and you will have an advantage in the marketplace.
- Women in manufacturing. The current trend in the industry is the growth of women in what were traditionally considered men’s roles. Manufacturing is being transformed from a labor intensive field to a more technologically focused market and women are taking advantage of this shift.
Are you looking for your next manufacturing or construction opportunity? Luttrell Staffing Group Services specializes in the industry and can help you today!
