Due to the large number of individuals retiring over the next ten years a critical shortage of people available to work within the manufacturing industry is looming (Dychtwald, Erickson, & Morison, 2006). This shortage is exacerbated by the lack of a properly educated workforce that meets the demands of the 21st century manufacturer (Judy…

Robots--powerful, versatile, and easily adapted to new operations--may usher in a new industrial age. Workers throughout the labor force could be affected, as well as the nature of the workplace, skill requirements of jobs, and concomitant shifts in vocational education. (SK)

Export-related industries accounted for almost half of the rebound in manufacturing employment after the decline of 1984-86. (Author)

The weak economy of the early 1990s increased the number of displaced workers. Although a disproportionately large share were in the goods-producing industries, displacements were much more widespread across industries than a decade earlier. (Author)

Notes that during 1996, overall job gains were moderated by losses in nondurable goods manufacturing and federal employment, and that declining unemployment was tempered by persistent long-term joblessness. (Author)

By 2005, U.S. employment is expected to increase by 26.4 million, a 1.5% annual rate. Services will provide more than half of new job growth. Construction will add jobs; manufacturing employment will decline. Public sector employment will grow more slowly than average. (SK)

Examines changes in employment, unemployment, and hours of work in manufacturing, with particular focus on the five major metal-using and producing industries which are particularly sensitive to economic cycles. (SK)

In 1992, manufacturing continued to lose large numbers of jobs and other industries had small employment declines; only services and government added substantially to their employment but with weaker gains than in the 1980s. (Author)

Recent economic growth and improved manufacturing profitability are supporting increased employment for industrial engineers. Promising areas include modernizing manufacturing technology and productivity with large amounts of hiring in aerospace, electronics, and instrumentation. Percentages of women employed in these fields for 1982 and 1983 are…

Review of statistical data confirms worldwide trends: growth in services, decline in agriculture, and, in manufacturing, decline in industrialized economies but growth in developing ones. Although services are characterized by low productivity growth, certain types (such as research and development) exert positive influence on economic growth. (SK)

Employment declined and unemployment rose in the second half of 1990; job losses were particularly acute in construction and manufacturing. (Author)

In a survey of 54 personnel/human resource directors, 8 trainers, and 16 managers in Texas manufacturing firms, 34% forecast a decrease in hiring of high school graduates. Most-desired skill categories were group interaction, employability, and personal development, not communication and computation. (SK)

Because average wages are higher in manufacturing than in services, some observers view employment shifts to services as shifts from "good" to "bad" jobs. However, a deeper assessment reveals that within each industry, especially in services, a range of job quality exists. (Author)

Coming from a variety of disciplines, manufacturing engineers are keys to industry's efforts to modernize, with demand exceeding supply. The newest and fastest-growing areas include machine vision, composite materials, and manufacturing automation protocols, each of which is briefly discussed. (JN)

Bureau of Labor Statistics data show the industrial sector as a whole in healthy shape, but a few manufacturing industries in deep trouble. These industries include tobacco manufacturers, iron and steel foundries, leather products, and steel manufacturers. Also examines shifts in employment and output, job quality, and outlook for the future. (CT)