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March 09, 2006
“America Doesn’t Make Anything Anymore!” Part II
And it still isn’t true:
- It would seem like a "help wanted" sign in a factory is as much a thing of the past as 50-cent gasoline, 25-cent pizza or black and white televisions.
But experts say that the outlook for hiring in manufacturing isn't nearly as bleak as the recent headlines would suggest.
Despite the growth in imports, there are still powerful incentives to keep some manufacturing here, close to the world's largest consumer market in a just-in-time delivery world.
That's part of the reason Asian and European automakers have been building so many U.S. plants -- to serve growing demand from U.S. consumers for their products.
Several experts say that the steep decline in the nation's manufacturing base in earlier decades is probably behind us, that the remaining jobs are more competitive and productive, and thus more secure.
"We might still be seeing some small declines in manufacturing overall, but even that's a mix," said Ken Goldstein, labor economist at the Conference Board, a business research group. "This year you'll see more hiring in nondurable manufacturing sectors such as in chemicals, in rubber, in plastics, in paper."
…
The most recent survey [by the Institute for Supply Management]found that 22 percent of manufacturing executives are planning to add jobs, and another 65 percent plan to keep staffing at current levels.
…
[A] survey by the National Association of Manufacturers and Deloitte Consulting last fall found that more than half of manufacturers reported that 10 percent or more of their positions are empty for lack of the right candidates. In addition, 81 percent face "moderate" or "severe" shortages of qualified workers that constrain output.
Article here.
Posted by tedb at March 9, 2006 03:39 PM
I've just been staying at home waiting for something to happen. Whatever. Not much on my mind lately. I guess it doesn't bother me.
Comment by: Sten51382 at January 26, 2007 03:32 PM
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I just don't have much to say these days, but so it goes. Today was a total loss. I guess it doesn't bother me.
Comment by: Sten51440 at January 27, 2007 06:39 PM
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My life's been pretty dull recently. Shrug. My mind is like a void. I haven't gotten anything done lately. I can't be bothered with anything recently.
Comment by: Sten58228 at January 27, 2007 09:07 PM
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My life's been pretty dull recently. Shrug. My mind is like a void. I haven't gotten anything done lately. I can't be bothered with anything recently.
Comment by: Sten4057 at January 28, 2007 01:26 AM
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I haven't gotten anything done today. I feel like a fog, but what can I say? I've just been letting everything wash over me lately, not that it matters. Shrug.
Comment by: Sten43091 at January 28, 2007 04:38 AM
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I've just been staying at home waiting for something to happen. Whatever. Not much on my mind lately. I guess it doesn't bother me.
Comment by: Sten26679 at January 28, 2007 06:34 PM
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I haven't been up to anything today. I can't be bothered with anything recently. Nothing seems worth thinking about. I haven't gotten anything done recently, but oh well. Not much noteworthy going on worth mentioning.
Comment by: Sten95108 at January 28, 2007 07:59 PM
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Not much on my mind right now, but it's not important. I've just been letting everything happen without me. I just don't have anything to say right now.
Comment by: Sten35458 at January 29, 2007 02:21 AM
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I just don't have anything to say right now. I haven't been up to anything recently, but it's not important. I've just been sitting around waiting for something to happen, but shrug.
Comment by: Sten60045 at January 29, 2007 05:48 AM
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I've just been staying at home not getting anything done. I guess it doesn't bother me. Shrug. I haven't been up to anything. I haven't gotten much done today.
Comment by: Sten43224 at January 29, 2007 04:08 PM
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I haven't been up to anything today. I can't be bothered with anything recently. Nothing seems worth thinking about. I haven't gotten anything done recently, but oh well. Not much noteworthy going on worth mentioning.
Comment by: Sten57925 at January 30, 2007 12:33 AM
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Not much on my mind. I don't care. I've just been letting everything happen without me , but shrug. Whatever. I feel like a void.
Comment by: Sten48323 at January 30, 2007 07:43 AM
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I've just been staying at home waiting for something to happen. Whatever. Not much on my mind lately. I guess it doesn't bother me.
Comment by: Sten3601 at January 30, 2007 01:46 PM
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I haven't been up to anything these days. So it goes. I can't be bothered with anything these days.
Comment by: Sten35365 at January 30, 2007 10:14 PM
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Not much on my mind these days, but what can I say? It's not important. I just don't have much to say lately. I've just been letting everything pass me by recently, but eh.
Comment by: Sten46265 at January 31, 2007 07:15 AM
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I've just been staying at home waiting for something to happen, but I don't care. Basically nothing seems worth thinking about. I can't be bothered with anything recently.
Comment by: Sten27812 at February 1, 2007 12:20 AM
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I've just been staying at home waiting for something to happen. Whatever. Not much on my mind lately. I guess it doesn't bother me.
Comment by: Sten48697 at February 1, 2007 03:52 AM
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My life's been basically bland today. More or less nothing seems worth thinking about. My mind is like an empty room. I've more or less been doing nothing to speak of. Not much on my mind recently.
Comment by: Sten27738 at February 1, 2007 05:31 AM
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I haven't gotten anything done today. I feel like a fog, but what can I say? I've just been letting everything wash over me lately, not that it matters. Shrug.
Comment by: Sten58863 at February 1, 2007 10:16 AM
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I haven't been up to much these days. Today was a loss. Nothing seems important. I've just been letting everything happen without me these days.
Comment by: Sten85898 at February 2, 2007 03:43 AM
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retty much nothing seems worth thinking about. My life's been completely dull , not that it matters. I've just been staying at home waiting for something to happen.
Comment by: Sten22847 at February 2, 2007 12:07 PM
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I just don't have much to say recently. Such is life. I've basically been doing nothing. Basically nothing seems worth bothering with. Oh well.
Comment by: Sten31070 at February 4, 2007 06:45 AM
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I just don't have anything to say right now. I haven't been up to anything recently, but it's not important. I've just been sitting around waiting for something to happen, but shrug.
Comment by: Sten91318 at February 4, 2007 08:38 PM
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Basically nothing seems worth thinking about. I haven't been up to much these days. I just don't have much to say right now. I can't be bothered with anything , but whatever.
Comment by: Sten34757 at February 5, 2007 04:50 AM
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I've just been staying at home not getting anything done. I've basically been doing nothing worth mentioning. My life's been pretty unremarkable these days. Eh.
Comment by: Sten41637 at February 5, 2007 03:12 PM
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I feel like a complete blank, but I don't care. Pfft. I've pretty much been doing nothing worth mentioning.
Comment by: Sten1091 at February 5, 2007 10:43 PM
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I've more or less been doing nothing worth mentioning, but eh. My life's been really bland today. I don't care. I've just been letting everything happen without me these days. That's how it is.
Comment by: Sten76567 at February 6, 2007 03:29 AM
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