When was U.S. MANUFACTURING at its PEAK?

Quality resonders only wrote:

Financial Economist wrote:

If based on manufacturing employment, it appears to be around 1979.

http://s1.ibtimes.com/sites/www.ibtimes.com/files/styles/embed/public/2014/04/08/bls-us-manufacturing-jobs-compared-services.png

Interestingly, manufacturing employment rose during both the Clinton and Obama administrations, but fell during the Bush 1 and Bush 2 years.

Nothing new about that. They call it a recession for a reason.

Well. That's true. So how do you explain the net loss of manufacturing jobs during the regan years?

Coachb wrote:

So how do you explain the net loss of manufacturing jobs during the [Reagan] years?

It doesn't take as many human beings to make stuff as it used to. That transition was well under way during the Reagan years.

It won't be stopping, either.

554 wrote:

Coachb wrote:

So how do you explain the net loss of manufacturing jobs during the [Reagan] years?

It doesn't take as many human beings to make stuff as it used to. That transition was well under way during the Reagan years.

It won't be stopping, either.

That's my point. Sort of. Even during good times, the total number of manufacturing jobs doesn't return to what it was before the previous recession.

554 wrote:

You a Lie wrote:

Manufacturing requires high paid skilled machinists, welders, technicians, pipe-fitters, carpenters, engineers, accountants, managers etc.

Umm dude "manufacturing" requires making stuff. That's all.

I think the whole point is that to an increasing degree making stuff requires fewer people.

Analogy with agriculture ("growing stuff"): we're growing tons of food but fewer and fewer people are involved. Things change.

You doo-fus. The Olive Garden is synonymous with a Screw Drive Plant -- no skill, minimum wages are paid to open up sauce packets made at the factory and microwave dishes. Screw Driver Plants don't add high paying jobs to the economy, only low paying, non-skill jobs.

Most wrote:

probably not wrote:

Manufacturing was at its peak when most of our labor force was overseas?

Ahem, more people were working in the USA making war products than were overseas fighting. To say nothing of the regular businesses that continued on as always.

1917

554 wrote:

Coachb wrote:

So how do you explain the net loss of manufacturing jobs during the [Reagan] years?

It doesn't take as many human beings to make stuff as it used to. That transition was well under way during the Reagan years.

It won't be stopping, either.

This. ^^^^^^^^

In terms of the national economy, manufacturing output is really what matters. Our manufacturing over the past 50 years has shifted from relatively low-skill (think ingots and socks) to high-skill manufacturing (think technology), which is what you'd expect considering the difference in wage rates across countries.

*However* there can be a social good to have communities retain manufacturing jobs --- and to avoid entire sections of the U.S. losing their economic base of reasonably-paid manufacturing jobs. It just is difficult to make the case that it makes economic sense to do so, so it's more of a social program if you give incentives, etc.

Coachb wrote:

Quality resonders only wrote:

Nothing new about that. They call it a recession for a reason.

Well. That's true. So how do you explain the net loss of manufacturing jobs during the regan years?

First of all the decline started during 1979 and collapsed for 4 years Reagan didn't take office until 1981. If you read William Greider's book Secrets of the Temple the Democrats that controlled the WH & Congress strangely caved to pleas from the Federal Reserve in early 1980 to remove the Depression era deposit ceilings at commercial banks and cheap credit, needed to employ all these workers on the rust belt simply disappeared. At the same time Volcker lifted the FFR to 18%, the dollar surged back above Bretton Woods levels against all other currencies, American manufacturing exports collapsed.

Your chart also needs to be adjusted as a % of the total work force. Anyhow isn't it better that the workforce drifts into finance and technology? Better pay and healthier conditions.

We have been involved in a trade war for decades. Our government has been surrendering without even putting up a fight. Trump will use the American power to protect Mr. and Mrs. America from predatory countries like China, South Korea, Japan and Mexico. He will END the trade war because other countries will cave in, once they realize how serious our government is in protecting American jobs. And we will have an unprecedented manufacturing boom under President Trump.

Fact is, our manufacturing was/is driven by war. You notice Trump mentioning how we might go back into Iraq?

And since this isn't 1900, or 1950, or 1980, but 2017, we have lots of automation and efficiency in place. This means fewer real people are needed, even though manufacturing is running strong, despite efforts to kill it by recent Republican administrations.

They know they can snow people over by mentioning manufacturing, just like Trump has done, but the fact is that turning back the clock to put actual human manufacturers back to work will hurt company profits. It's not going to happen.

Just like the wall is not going to happen.

Just like new airports will not be built.

Just like new roads will not be built.

Just like new bridges will not be built.

Just like everyone won't have better, cheaper insurance.

But everyone with a mortgage under 200K will essentially hand $500 over to everyone worth more than $1 million. That has already happened.

Actually it was at it's peak in the early 1950's.

Seriously asking wrote:

Just like the wall is not going to happen.

Just like new airports will not be built.

Just like new roads will not be built.

Just like new bridges will not be built.

Just like everyone won't have better, cheaper insurance.

Just like Trump will never pass 30%.

Just like Trump will never be the Republican nominee.

Just like Trump has no chance of beating Clinton.

There's a big difference between running for office and holding office.

Keep the faith. You're going to need it.

Stephen Hawking wrote:

gfer wrote:

The primary reason that factory *jobs* have dwindled is automation, not off-shoring--and automation cannot be rewound.

I've been saying this for years--our real battle is against the robots. They represent the greatest threat to humanity!

Not really. If robots work we don't have to. We should do our best to build robots to do everything for us so we can be happy and not have to work for 60 years then die.

What is the plan to increase manufacturing jobs?

I suppose you can outlaw machines and force companies to hire people to hand make everything.

But the reality is that the economy is continuously shifting away from manual manufacturing and towards service and technology.

So people have to adjust to that shift and work towards getting the appropriate skills to be economically viable.

The number of jobs has continually increased and the unemployment rate steadily has gone down throughout the country. That is what matters.

If Trump wants us to judge him by net manufacturing jobs, that may be a mistake.

Think about this in terms of something we can all relate to, the manufacturing of running shoes. How would a company like Nike even go about moving all of their manufacturing to the US? How long would it take to build the factories and what would the cost of a pair of shoes be if all of this was possible? My guess is that the retail cost of a pair of shoes would at least double. Now they could not do any of this and just pay the proposed higher taxes and tariffs but what would this do to the cost of a pair of shoes? Not to mention that unemployment in the US is at it's lowest point since the 1970's so why is all of this necessary?

Make America Great Again wrote:

He will END the trade war because other countries will cave in, once they realize how serious our government is in protecting American jobs. And we will have an unprecedented manufacturing boom under President Trump.

In all sincerity, I hope you are right.

But I suspect you are not.

It can't be the 50s again, no matter how much Trump and company wish it was.

I hope the country can survive their efforts to make it so.

So the slogan is "Make America Great Again", right? So my question to them is when was America great by their standards? If it was indeed the 1950's, which one could make a case for, the top federal tax rate was over 90%. I doubt that would qualify as "great" by the current regime.

Can't Stump the Trump wrote:

Seriously asking wrote:

Just like the wall is not going to happen.

Just like new airports will not be built.

Just like new roads will not be built.

Just like new bridges will not be built.

Just like everyone won't have better, cheaper insurance.

Just like Trump will never pass 30%.

Just like Trump will never be the Republican nominee.

Just like Trump has no chance of beating Clinton.

I work with a civil engineering firm and we are very interested when we hear of any politician who wants big infrastructure spending. We are already unable to find enough qualified workers.