Forbes.com Reveals List of Fastest-Dying Cities Due to Manufacturing Job Losses; ManufacturingCrossing Unperturbed

August 11, 2008   |    PDF version

Pasadena, CA — A report by Forbes.com has placed Canton, Youngstown, Dayton, Springfield, and six more cities on its list of the fastest-dying cities in the US. Much of the decay has been ascribed to the rapid decline of the manufacturing sector and the resultant loss of manufacturing jobs. The turmoil has caused a surge in freelance workers who are using their manufacturing training combined with their marketing instincts in order to earn their livings. Elance, Odesk, and other work-from-home solutions are ruling the roost for those who are laid off, but few have managed to land a decent project. ManufacturingCrossing (www.manufacturingcrossing.com), the world’s leading job portal, is unperturbed, though.

''It’s a rather dismal picture of the health of the cities listed by Forbes,'' says Harrison Barnes, CEO and founder of ManufacturingCrossing. ''But as pointed out by some government officials, the numbers discussed in the report are from 2000-2005 and don’t reflect what’s been happening more recently. It is very difficult to assess the current situation in the US just by analyzing past data.''

The Forbes report stated that most of the cities which are on the list have worse unemployment figures than the rest of the nation due to the sluggish economy and worsening manufacturing sector. Canton reported an unemployment rate of 6.7%, while Dayton had a rate of 6.9%, much higher than the national unemployment rate of 5.5% in June. Local officials argued, however, that Forbes had not focused on the likely growth prospects of the cities, simply labeling them as ''dying'' based on past assumptions.

Seconding the view of these local officials, Barnes says, ''The employment outlook as revealed by Forbes.com is based on outdated facts and figures which have only partial relevance to recent times. The manufacturing sector is going through troubled times, but there isn’t the dearth of manufacturing jobs reported by Forbes. ManufacturingCrossing has recently posted more than 17,000 US manufacturing jobs in its database, and this is a testament to the fact that if one searches in the right places, one is sure to end up with a job.''

ManufacturingCrossing is an exclusive job board for manufacturing professionals which scours more than 8,000 job boards and 250,000 employer websites everyday. Additionally, ManufacturingCrossing does not charge employers to post jobs on its site, which gives job seekers access to a broader range of available positions, including those not listed on other job boards or in classified ads.

The top manufacturing jobs that can be found on the site are:

• Manufacturing manager jobs (6,297 jobs)
• Manufacturing associate jobs (2,551 jobs)
• Manufacturing engineer jobs (2,532 jobs)
• Manufacturing technician jobs (1,641 jobs)
• Chemical manufacturing jobs (1,391 jobs)
• Manufacturing assistant jobs (621 jobs)
  

Barnes adds that ''unlike other job-search and career sites, ManufacturingCrossing weeds out spam and jobs outside your niche, allowing you to search efficiently and specifically.''

ManufacturingCrossing concentrates on using a highly trained research staff of hundreds of people to track down the positions of every US employer. Last week, the site posted about 17,880 active manufacturing jobs, and that number is set to receive a boost in the coming days. For more details, log on to www.manufacturingcrossing.com.

Contact:
Mary Waldron, Editorial Coordinator
EmploymentCrossing
626-243-1821
maryw@employmentcrossing.com

About ManufacturingCrossing

ManufacturingCrossing is an affiliate of EmploymentCrossing, a powerful and comprehensive organization dedicated to helping professionals find jobs that will enhance their careers. ManufacturingCrossing consolidates every manufacturing job opening it can find in one convenient location. The website also offers a seven-day free trial to new members.