“The American public’s perception of manufacturing may be at an inflection point. The good news is manufacturing clearly matters to many Americans, with the vast majority viewing U.S. manufacturing as crucial to America’s economic prosperity, standard of living, and national security,” said a new report.
[IW Staff | July 13, 2017 |Industry Week]
U.S. manufacturing suffers from an important image problem that undermines its competitiveness, according to a new survey released on July 13 by Deloitte, along with the Manufacturing Institute.
Only 50% of Americans think manufacturing jobs are interesting and less than 30% are likely to encourage their children to pursue a career.
However Americans have not yet given up hope on the industry and in fact are overwhelmingly optimistic for its future:
- 55% believe that sector can compete globally
- 81% that future manufacturing jobs will occur in safer and cleaner environments
- 64% believe the industry is high-tech
- 76% of respondents believe the U.S. needs a more strategic approach to develop manufacturing
While the future looks bright, much needs to be done to make sure that the public, including educators and those in a position to guide talent to the industry, understand the facts, the report concludes. For example, many people feel that the industry does not offer well-paid jobs. However, workers in the sector currently earn $20,000 more including pay and benefits, compared to employees in other industry. Manufacturing holds the highest average wages ($81,289) across all private sector industries and has one of the lowest turnover rates (2.3%).
