President of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, Scott Paul, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to talk about the pro-manufacturing economy in America, misconceptions from the October Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report and potential threats to the manufacturing industry.
Unlike recent history, the economic policy in place today is benefitting and improving the manufacturing industry. Investment is coming to help rebuild the infrastructure for much of the manufacturing industry, which helps improve competitiveness. There are now incentives to scale up various forms of clean energy production to assist in decarbonizing America. All these incentives bring in new factories, and with new factories come new good-paying, union jobs to the country, Paul said.
Due to the United Auto Workers strike, the Bureau of Labor Statistics October jobs report showed a loss of nearly 35,000 jobs. But strikes count as job losses, so with autoworkers returning to work following a new contract, many of those 35,000 jobs have returned, Paul said. Not only will we see the return of striking workers, but with the new jobs, there will be new workers seeking to fill openings in the manufacturing industry with their high-paying contracts.
This improving manufacturing industry is something that shouldn’t be taken for granted by the American manufacturing industry. The United States is currently one of the strongest economies in the world, Paul said. However, many issues, both foreign and domestic, could impact the strength of the economy. From countries seeking to dump products into the American market to discontent among Congress, Paul said, there are several threats to the American economy.
To hear more from Paul on the state of the manufacturing industry, play the show above.