December 16, 2016
A Washington Post article headlined, “[w]hy so many U.S. manufacturers are putting up ‘help wanted’ signs” might have led readers to believe that this is a great time for anyone looking for a job in manufacturing. That is not the case, according the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
According to the JOLTS data, the job opening rate in manufacturing has been 2.6 percent for the last three months. This is small decline from the rate earlier in the year. The same rate was reported for three months in 2012 and two months in 2007. In two other months in 2007 the rate was 2.7 percent.
The article also tells readers that manufacturers have been raising wages as part of their effort to attract workers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the average hourly wage for production and non-supervisory workers in manufacturing rose 2.7 percent over the last year. This compares to an increase of 2.4 percent in the economy as a whole.
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