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

[msc545]

jjuhttps://www.npr.org/sections/planet-money/2025/05/13/g-s1-66112/why-arent-americans-filling-the-manufacturing-jobs-we-already-have?

[contentious]

Starting in 2001 there was a mass education shift by the government in the USA toward STEM training. The Department of Education pushed education goals in a specific direction without creating jobs ahead of time for said future employees. Now you have a bunch of people educated in STEM, but the jobs are not there for those trained people. So you have SMART people not working in their field or employment gaps. That said, if you create the right type of manufacturing jobs, those STEM educated people could fill positions in manufacturing if employers are more flexible on employment history. For example people trained in biology/biotechnology or chemistry could become bioprocess engineers, chemical engineers, technicians, etc. in pharma factories if they were to return in mass to the USA in states that have large populations educated in biology/chemistry.

Much of the American pharma industry is currently in Indiana, Puerto Rico, North Carolina, California, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. While there are skilled workers in North Carolina, California, and Pennsylvania for example, Puerto Rico and Indiana are not as well matched and there are missed opportunities for employee pools specifically in Texas, Florida, New York, Georgia, and Virginia for example due to higher levels of natural scientists and large populations. As pharma returns to the USA, those states should be prioritized in that order.

There is also a glut of computer scientists due to the STEM initiative by the Department of Education. As a result there a tons of talent in again Texas, Florida, New York, Virginia and so on that do not live in Silicon Valley which can be leveraged for artificial intelligence/machine learning and robotics technicians in advanced manufacturing facilities. Really all you have to do is put the right sort of factories in the right states where the human capital already exists and you will find your employees.

Too much focus has been placed on creating manufacturing in locations like California where cost of living is too high or in places like Ohio or Indiana where the skill pool is too low when locations like Florida, Georgia, Virginia, and upstate New York could bring the high skill set and large workforce to get the job done. But you will probably delete this because all you care about is getting government funding funneled to the state of California through crony capitalism to develop your economy for employees you do not have… Facts hurt...

[contentious]

This is the kind of imbalance that central planning (socialism) always creates. The education minsters trains everyone for the central goal of the moment without considering regional needs. Then the central bureaucracy rewards party loyalists with factories through pork barrel spending creating too many jobs in loyalist enclaves that can’t be filled. As a result non-party loyalists don’t have work, and party enclaves have inefficient understaffed facilities. Inefficient factories drive prices up. Plopping all the factories in party loyalist enclaves drives loyalist competition for limited resources driving cost of labor and cost of living up. People struggle and demand higher wages which drives prices up even more. The separation between the upper class and the lower class becomes very noticeable as the middle class gets knocked out, homelessness rises, drug abuse runs rampant, mental illness and suicide rates rise and so on and it’s all by design… A poor centrally planned economy that plays favorites due to corruption leads to the mess you see for example in California. In contrast when someone like Trump say it’s national security concern, we need to have our pharmaceutical manufacturing in the USA... We will tariff your products if you don’t re-shore manufacturing... Then you see companies like Novartis almost immediately evaluate potential states for workforce, business friendliness, cost of living, taxes, logistics, and so on and come to the conclusion that new factories should be located in Texas and Florida, and that old factories that were already paid for by pork barrel spending should be expanded to reduce cost because that’s the most logical play. They don’t pick the same labor markets as the central government does because they aren’t motivated by politics. It’s just business. The market can balance itself if the central government isn’t forcing imbalance.

[OneViewpoint]

Here's the landscape for factory work in the US...

Low job security. A business can be sold multiple times to financial buyers (private equity) or a strategic buyer (competitors). There will be synergies taken on every consolidation move... plant closures and layoffs and benefit plan downgrades.

Offshoring. Republicans made it easy and attractive for corporations to move all their manufacturing jobs to 3rd world economies with cheap labor, low taxes, and no pollution laws. Your job can be moved to China in a heartbeat.

Labor law protections and unions under constant assault by Republicans at the state and federal levels. Especially in Red States. It basically results in slave labor.

Workplace safety laws and OSHA under constant assault by Republicans at the state and federal level. Especially in Red States. It basically results in higher risk of injury or death.

Add up those four factors and the quality of life slides downhill towards the 19th century industrial age cesspools owned by the Robber Barons. People are opting out of that Master / Slave form of extremist Capitalism and a consumption economy. They are willing to live a simpler existence to not be dependent on the whims of billionaires. In many cases they are starting their own small business and making their own hours, choosing quality of life over a new BMW. Corporate America did this over the last 4 decades. Now they have to convince a disgusted workforce who doesn't trust them to come home to Pimp Daddy corporate America.

[msc545]

Nobody wants to live in a a red State even if the job is somewhat attractive.

[Agape93]

They don't pay enough, and companies either won't pay more so they can keep profits higher, or they will and pass the cost to consumers which buy less which makes the companies lay off workers.

[ProbablyClueless]

This is a total guess. But my guess is that they're having trouble finding people qualified to do the jobs. A whole lot of Americans went to colleges instead of trade schools and they would rather work in their chosen field than take up labor. And even if they decide to take up a trade, they have to get the education and entry level experiences before they can work the jobs that story is talking about.

You and I are blessed to be highly educated and working in fields where our mental acuity provides job security. A lot of people don't have that flexibility.

[msc545]

@ProbablyClueless I think you are probably correct. Also, I think that the common perception of "factory jobs", especially by women, contributes to the lack of interest in these jobs. According to the article, it takes about a year to two years of trade school to learn this stuff, and I know a lot of men have had bad experiences in high school and want no part of any more school. From my vantage point, two years in school is nothing at all, but that is just me and probably you as well.

[msc545]

@TheSmellOfVictoria He did not say the same thing. Work on your reading comprehension.

[msc545]

How nice for you. Now go away.

[ProbablyClueless]

@TheSmellOfVictoria It's because of the approach you took in this interaction. The way you wrote your response was much more accusatory and antagonistic. Instead of making neutral observations about the state of reality, you assign blame which, with someone like MSC (a liberal), requires you to provide specific evidence. You're telling him that he's part of the problem, which no one ever wants to think of themselves that way.

Your goal here was (I'm assuming) to have a conversation about a problem, not make someone feel bad.

I would recommend downloading a book called "How to win friends and influence people" on Audible. I'm pretty sure it's free. It's a great listen and provides insights into conversations like this. Be quick to praise others, and very hesitant to criticize them.

[TheSmellOfVictoria]

Mainly because they're "skilled" jobs and there isn't anyone that can fill them. For every baby-boomer that retires, there is a deficit of skilled labor to replace them. Why? Because liberals have created a culture that it's "cool to not have children" and "going to college is the only way to make money'. Notice, college graduates would rather deliver pizza or wait tables than get their hands dirty learning a trade and actually make good money and advance. This is FACT by the way! China is currently dealing with it after years of selectively killing babies to keep their population down! Now their population doesn't have enough young people to make up the workforce that's too old.

[msc545]

@thesmellofvictoria I think you need to support your "FACTS" instead of just blindly asserting them and hoping others will believe them.

[14gurlz2gagonit]

Illegals were... what about the last 4 years of that did you not get? Just walk into one of those places and look around and ask for a job. Try to talk to your potential co-workers. They're still not born from her bro. Didn't notice that part?

If you didn't notice that much then you noticed you don't get the job because they'd have to pay you more and they want to hire more of them.

[Anonymous]

don't know, I have to go look and see if I could do one. lot of younger people don't like to do that kinda of labor work, have to reset the minds and communications since whole generation got outsourced to be service sector economy.

know a few people that went into automotive manufacturing and some aerospace.

[DrPepper12]

Because maggots would rather have their decimated towns stay that way and wallow in a pit of neck, self-pity and being an incel on to the t eeth.

[exitseven]

Maybe they are waiting to hire illegal aliens so they can pay them minimum wage.

[888theGreat]

Trump said Americans are unqualified to fill jobs

[msc545]

Trump is kind of an expert on this given the fact that he is unqualified for his present job.

[888theGreat]

He is doing what he does best , causing Bankruptsy

[Kelly6]

Pays less? 😆

[msc545]

Even with decent pay it is very hard to fill these jobs.

[Kelly6]

Reason why,?

[msc545]

That is a good question, and the answer is unclear. Read the article and tell me what you think please. I think it has to do with social status. Also in some ways women's perceptions of these jobs when men have them.

[msc545]

Without going off on a tangent into a rabbit hole here, I know from experience that women have always been very interested in my educational acomplishment, and my work. This of course is not idle interest - the point is to 1) gauge my employment or professional liklihood of getting a high-paying job or position in the future, and 2) if I am working (and I better be), assessing if my income is likely to be sufficient to meet HER needs and desire to be supported and pampered. My answers to these questions will determine to a large degree her willingness to stick arounf at leaastt until the next taller, better-looking, or most importantly, wealthier guy come along.

What does this have to do with factory jobs? Everything. Unless you OWN thr fucking factory, women associate factory jobs with menial low-paid work, and they are insta-gone. Guys know this, which is why many guys refuse factory work at almost any amount of pay.