U.S. Production Rises, Driving Hiring on ManufacturingCrossing.com

August 26, 2013   |    PDF version

Pasadena, CA - U.S. production will grow to $115 billion in exports by 2020 and create an estimated 5 million new jobs, as per a latest study. An uptick in the hiring activity on ManufacturingCrossing.com offers a preview of how growth in U.S. domestic production is encouraging employment.

U.S. manufacturing is expanding at a rapid rate, thanks to cheaper costs and greater production efficiency. This has resulted in many companies keeping labor at home instead of outsourcing it from other nations. The study, conducted by the Boston Consulting Group, predicts that production will increase $115 billion in exports by 2020 and can potentially add another 2.5 to 5 million new manufacturing jobs in the U.S. While many employ services of overseas sweatshops when it comes to cheap labor, the report noted that "the U.S. is steadily becoming one of the lowest-cost countries for manufacturing in the developed world."

The declining labor cost is keeping many jobs domestic, in a sector well known for outsourcing production to countries like Bangladesh and China where labor is typically cheaper. At the end of the day, there are plenty of advantages to keeping manufacturing domestic. These include saving money on shipping goods, exports and levies. U.S. employment has already benefited from increased auto production, which has been particularly busy through summer this year. Many of the largest auto companies, including Toyota and Honda, have increased production of their vehicles in the U.S. By continuing to drive down production costs and keep manufacturing at home, the U.S. can make billions in exports.

Hiring by U.S.-based manufacturers on ManufacturingCrossing.com reflects the study's findings. The greatest demand on this jobsite that aggregates all jobs in the industry has been centered on manufacturing production and operation jobs. Candidates with engineering or management experience are likely to benefit the most.

After a busy summer for the U.S. auto industry, many companies have been aggressive in recruiting factory and production workers to meet increased demand. Job growth for the sector is only expected to increase further as more and more companies move operations back to the U.S.

The decision whether to keep labor domestic and local or go overseas is often a double-edged sword. Many companies look solely at monetary cost of labor, but there are hidden costs as well. For example, most companies find even simple logistics becoming complicated when operations are being run by a team of employees in another country and time zone, as face-to-face communication is infrequent. For some companies, it is advantageous to keep the labor force local, simply because they save upon the additional time spent coordinating projects with a team that is not readily available. If the findings from the study are any indicator, with domestic labor costs dropping, it will make more sense to keep the work force at home.

About ManufacturingCrossing.com
ManufacturingCrossing.com is a job search site based in Pasadena, CA. It is a part of the Employment Research Institute and owned by A. Harrison Barnes.

Contact:
Andrew Ostler
ManufacturingCrossing
626-243-1801
aostler@er.org
https://www.manufacturingcrossing.com