As the American economy recovers from the effects of the recent recession, the manufacturing sector continues to grow. Growth in manufacturing jobs, however, has remained fairly sluggish during the past year. Signs of improvement in this area are developing, and there may be hope for growth in manufacturing jobs in the near future. The growth of the energy market at home has created new opportunities for expansion in many fields, which will likely mean more opportunities for workers and manufacturing companies.
News during much of the previous year showed that sustained growth in the manufacturing industry did not necessarily lead to sustained growth in jobs. During the first eleven months of 2013, manufacturing jobs grew at a rate of approximately 5,000 per month. While steady, this rate of growth was much slower than anticipated; analysts had expected the continuing energy boom resulting from discovery and tapping of new energy resources to result in greater manufacturing job growth. Over time, this energy may be more efficiently harnessed for manufacturing growth.
Energy growth was only one of the factors driving the US manufacturing industry in 2013. President Barack Obama took an active hand by creating new manufacturing institutes and programs designed to help foster the growth of manufacturing jobs and opportunities across the nation. This step may be partly responsible for the exceptional growth in the final month of the year: December 2013 saw manufacturing jobs grow by 9,000, a full 80 percent greater than in previous months. Coupled with the energy boom, these results have led to increased positive speculation about the future of manufacturing growth in the nation.
Manufacturing workers may well find more work available in the new year. Analysts currently anticipate exceptional job growth in the industry. For 2014, current estimates place the expected monthly total of new manufacturing jobs at 20,000. This is good news for workers and companies still struggling to overcome the effects of the recent recession on their businesses and incomes. A new manufacturing institute set up at North Carolina State University may help spur on new growth, and two more similar centers are expected to open in the near future. The continuing energy boom may well fuel growth in the industry at large, even if much of the natural gas being produced is currently exported.
The future looks bright for the manufacturing sector. Growth in energy has already helped create growth in the industry as a whole, and analysts expect more jobs to be created. For 2014, analysts estimate that jobs will grow at up to four times the levels seen in 2013, which will help create manufacturing jobs at home. Manufacturing workers and their employers may well see exceptional job growth in the coming months.
(Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net)
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