THE IMPORTANCE OF MANUFACTURING IN THE US ECONOMY

It is difficult to underestimate the importance of manufacturing in the US economy. According the 1997 U.S. Economic census, the payroll of the American manufacturing sector is 14% larger than the next two largest sectors (finance and insurance, retail trade) combined, despite having 15% fewer employees[2]! Some have said that other industries, such as financial services and trade will replace manufacturing in the future. An examination of the economic sectors refutes this argument. There are only four economic sectors that generate material wealth: agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and construction. Other sectors, such as services and trade, redistribute this wealth, and are built on the products created by the wealth generators. Of the four wealth-creating sectors, manufacturing plays a unique role because, unlike agriculture and mining, it is not directly limited by natural resources and, unlike construction, most manufacturing products are easily transferable across national and international borders. As a result, manufacturing is and will continue to be the fundamental base for the economic health and security of the United States.

The economic impact of the manufacturing sector is not limited to direct employment of manufacturing employees. A recent University of Michigan study concluded that more than 6.5 “spin off” jobs (including trade, service, and indirect manufactuirng) were created in 1998 for every direct automotive manufacturing job.

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Tom

CHAIRMAN ALAN GREENSPAN ON SKILLS

All industry is saying we need practical skills not just 4-yr english degrees. This article is a history of education since 1920's, how we got where we are at. We rose to the task in the 1920's and 193o's, the question is how are we going to compete globally today and tomorrow?

"Colleges have been in the forefront of teaching the types of skills that build on workers' previous experiences to create new job skills . Currently almost one in three of their enrollees are aged thirty or older, a statistic that suggests that these individuals have previous job experience. The impressive expansion of these learning centers attests to their success in imparting both general and practical job-related learning. A rising proportion of the population is also taking advantage of both general adult education and work-related instruction. The fact that, over the years, more than 94 percent of the workforce has been employed, on average, indicates that U.S. workers apparently have been sufficiently skilled and motivated to learn the new tasks that enable them to earn, on average, an ever-rising real wage."

Greenspan and education, read more:
Tom