Why aren't Americans filling the manufacturing jobs we already have? by Greg Rosalsky

 

President Trump has been upending the global economy in the name of bringing manufacturing back. President Joe Biden signed into law massive investments aimed at doing something similar. The American manufacturing sector is reviving after decades of decay.

But there's something a bit weird undercutting this movement to reshore factory jobs: American manufacturers say they are struggling to fill the jobs they already have.

According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are nearly half a million open manufacturing jobs right now.

Last year, the Manufacturing Institute, a non-profit aimed at developing America's manufacturing workforce, and Deloitte, a consultancy firm, surveyed more than 200 manufacturing companies. More than 65% percent of the firms said recruiting and retaining workers was their number one business challenge.

 Part of the story has been a tight labor market. There have been similar worker recruitment and retention issues in other sectors, like construction and transportation. But the shortfall of manufacturing workers is about more than just that — and, with both parties pushing to reshore manufacturing, analysts expect the industry's workforce issues to get even more challenging.

The Biden administration invested over $2 trillion on initiatives aimed at reinvigorating American industry, in legislation like the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). There's now an explosion of spending to construct new factories in America, and analysts expect the demand for manufacturing workers to pop.

 

The average manufacturing worker is also relatively old, and the industry expects a tidal wave of retirements in the coming decade.

The Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte projected that the industry will need 3.8 million additional workers by 2033, and that as many as "1.9 million of these jobs could go unfilled if workforce challenges are not addressed."

These estimates, mind you, were calculated before President Trump's recent tariffs, which, at least theoretically, are supposed to compel even more manufacturers to build factories in America. If things go to plan, we may need even more Americans to start working in manufacturing in coming years.