MT Magazine November/December 2024

The increase in demand for manufactured goods after 2020 prompted an increase in production that brought manufacturing employment above its pre-recessionary peak for the first time since 1979, although growth has since hit a plateau. Despite U.S. employment growth leveling o, job openings in manufacturing remain at elevated levels, indicating a labor shortfall. To overcome this, manufacturers have turned to automation. These increases in employment and automation seem to have reversed the previous trend of declining manufacturing productivity.

Manufacturing Employment in the United States (in Thousands)

18,000

Employment in manufacturing increased i manufacturing increased to meet heightened dema ghtened de meet heightened demand. emand

16,000

14,000

12,000

10,000

8,000

6,000

2001-01-01

2001-08-01

2002-03-01

2002-10-01

2003-05-01

2003-12-01

2004-07-01

2005-02-01

2005-09-01

2006-04-01

2006-11-01

2007-06-01

2008-01-01

2008-08-01 All Manufacturing 2009-03-01 2009-10-01

2010-05-01

2010-12-01

2011-07-01

2012-02-01

2012-09-01

2013-04-01

2013-11-01

2014-06-01

2015-01-01 Durable Goods 2015-08-01 2016-03-01

2016-10-01

2017-05-01

2017-12-01

2018-07-01

2019-02-01

2019-09-01

2020-04-01

2020-11-01

2021-06-01

2022-01-01

2022-08-01

2023-03-01

2023-10-01

2024-05-01

Manufacturing Labor Productivity

100 102 104 106

Not only are employment and automation increasin and automation increasing,

90 92 94 96 98

but manufacturing t productivity is too. vity is too.

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