Is there a new generational interest in US manufacturing employment?

A shortage of semiconductors hampered car production in 2021, pushing up used car prices and fueling US inflation. — © AFP

New survey data shows that 83 percent of the so-called Gen Z cohort are open or likely to consider jobs in commerce, while 78 percent of another marketing demographic — Millennials — share the same view.

In general, younger demographics are showing increased interest in moving into some form of trade-related occupation, unlike the Baby Boomers and Generation X cohorts.

This is based on a survey recently conducted by ARC (American Revitalization Company), a real estate and business development firm.

Data from the National Association of Manufacturers further reinforces these findings, revealing the sector’s significant economic contribution. In the fourth quarter of 2023, manufacturing injected $2.89 trillion annually into the US economy, with every dollar spent on manufacturing generating a total economic impact of $2.69.

As of May 2024, the sector employed nearly 13 million workers. It’s also a resource-hungry sector, as the survey reveals: all industrial users will consume 33.25 quadrillion Btu of energy in 2022, or 33.5 percent of the total.

In terms of the most attractive ‘trade’ areas, when asked to choose an industry, 46 percent of respondents preferred manufacturing over other trade jobs.

However, there are challenges, as a McKinsey report points out: “Gen Z workers say they are open to manufacturing jobs. But getting them to take these jobs, engage and stay will mean upending a work environment long optimized for machines, not people.”

The survey also revealed a nationalist and protectionist element, suggesting that over 80 percent of people living in the US consider manufacturing essential to the US economy. This strong sentiment was followed by views expressing a desire to see manufacturing operations, where the operation has moved away from the US, be relocated or kept on ‘American’ soil. About 54 percent expressed concerns about the negative implications of outsourcing manufacturing operations.

This perhaps suggests that the US attachment to the neoliberal economic model of free trade is waning.

According to Steve Austin, partner at ARC: “Americans understand the vital role that manufacturing plays in the American economy.”

He adds, “Americans recognize that manufacturing was critical to building our nation’s economy during the Industrial Revolution, its continuing importance to our current economic health, and they want to re-establish its presence in a meaningful way. At ARC, we are committed to making sure that happens.”