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Hiring Demand at US Manufacturers Grows

By Abby Lombardi on June 10, 2013 in Manufacturing.

We recently shared hiring trends for manufacturing jobs in Canada since Statistics Canada reported that employment in this area rose by 21,000 jobs in April, marking the first month of job gains in this sector over the past year. We wanted to look at manufacturing demands in the US. In May, there were about 244,000 jobs available online at manufacturers – a 2% year-over-year increase. The metropolitan areas with the most ads last month were New York, Los Angeles, San Jose, Boston, and Chicago.

Hiring Demand in Manufacturing – 4 Year Hiring Trend

Hiring demand in the manufacturing industry

Source: WANTED Analytics

Of the industries within the manufacturing sector, pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing had the most ads in May, with just over 17,000. Despite being the most in-demand, this represents a 5% decline in the number of open positions available online compared to the same month period in 2012. Semiconductor and related device manufacturing appeared with the 2nd highest demand. There were more than 15,000 jobs available last month at a 20% increase, the most of any industry listed below.

Manufacturing Industries with the Most Available Job Ads – May 2013 vs May 2012

Manufacturing industries with the most job ads

Source: WANTED Analytics

Below are the 10 most commonly advertised job titles in the manufacturing sector in the US. There are several engineering, technician, and production roles represented in the list below. However, Sales Representative tops the list as the most commonly advertised job title.

  1. Sales Representative
  2. Manufacturing Engineer
  3. Maintenance Technician
  4. Administrative Assistant
  5. Production Supervisor
  6. Merchandiser
  7. Software Engineer
  8. Mechanical Engineer
  9. Project Manager
  10. Machinist

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Manufacturing Jobs in Canada

By Ashley Rowe on May 25, 2013 in Canadian Employment, Manufacturing.

In Canada, manufacturing was one of the two sectors to see employment growth during April 2013 (the other being public administration.) Statistics Canada reported that employment in manufacturing rose by 21,000 jobs in April, marking the first month of job gains in this sector over the past year. What has manufacturing hiring demand looked like during the last 12 months? When comparing April 2013 to 2012, demand for manufacturing jobs increased 4% with just under 25,000 listings appearing online last month. Over the past 12 months, the number of job ads reached its highest volume in May 2012. Will we see even more manufacturing jobs during this May?

Hiring Demand for Manufacturing Jobs in Canada

Hiring Demand for Manufacturing Jobs in Canada

SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

Of the manufacturing industries, other tobacco product manufacturing produced the most job ads during April. This industry also had the highest demand when we reported on the most commonly advertised industries in Canada last month. Despite having the largest number of job listings, other tobacco product manufacturing demand declined in the past year, dropping 8%. Of the manufacturing industries with the greatest demand, half of them saw year-over-year growth. Aircraft manufacturing experienced the largest increase, rising 345%. Surgical appliances and supplies manufacturing saw the biggest decrease, declining 15%. Computer and Information Systems Professionals were the most advertised occupation by manufacturing industries next to Retail Salespersons and Sales Clerks.

Industries with the Most Demand for Manufacturing Jobs in Canada

Industries with the Most Demand for Manufacturing Jobs in Canada

SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

Toronto, (ON) had the greatest need for manufacturing professionals in April, followed by Montreal (QB), and Calgary (AB). Although, these cities had the highest number of job ads, these areas each saw a decrease in demand compared to last year. Quebec and Laval (QC) were the only locations to see a year-over-year increase.

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Chipping Away at Hiring by Computer Manufacturers

By Ashley Rowe on April 14, 2013 in Manufacturing.

News last week discussed the death of the PC and how worldwide shipments fell 14% during the first few months of 2013. This decline has been blamed on consumers switching from PCs to mobile devices, rising interest in touch devices, and difficulty adapting to a new user interface. What does this mean for electronic computer manufacturing hiring?

After reaching a 4-year high in demand during the third quarter of 2012, the number of jobs advertised by computer manufacturers has declined. During the first quarter of 2013, hiring demand decreased 16% when compared to the same period in 2012, bringing job volume to the lowest point in about 3 years.

Hiring Demand for Electronic Computer Manufacturing – 4 Year Hiring Trends

Electronic Computer Manufacturing Hiring Demand

SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

Computer and mathematical, business and finance, and management occupations are the most advertised fields by computer manufacturers. Despite outpacing other fields, demand for IT occupations decreased 44% when comparing the past 90 days to the same time period in 2012. Below are the most commonly advertised job titles in this industry.

  1. Software Engineer
  2. Senior Software Engineer
  3. Software Developer
  4. Assembler
  5. Software Development Engineer
  6. Systems Engineer
  7. Project Manager
  8. Software Systems Engineer
  9. Solution Representative Brand Specialist
  10. Service Information Developer III

The job titles seen most frequently are Software Engineers and Developers. Assemblers demonstrate that robots aren't taking over the assembly line in electronic computer manufacturing and that employees are required to wire, install, adjust, and build electronics. An unfamiliar job title on the list may be Solution Representative Brand Specialist, which is an alternative title for a Sales Representative.

Over the last 90 days, Los Angeles (CA) experienced the most demand, followed by Columbus (OH) and San Jose (CA). Of the cities with highest job volume, San Diego (CA) experienced the largest growth over the same period last year. It's to be expected that the Silicon Valley and nearby cities lead in hiring demand as they're home to many tech companies. It was unexpected to see Columbus among these locations. When further investigating demand in the Columbus metro area, we found that the majority of job ads were posted by IBM for their Dublin office, which is the home of IBM's new advanced analytics center. In November, IBM had announced their plan to hire 500 employees at this office.

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Will Software Developers Revive US Manufacturing?

By Ashley Rowe on March 16, 2013 in Computer/Math/IT, Manufacturing.

We've been tracking manufacturing hiring trends and noticed that America is likely to surpass worldwide competition. Reuters recently claimed that, "the major reason why U.S. manufacturing is so well positioned for a renaissance is software that can bring the real and virtual worlds together in a way that erases all boundaries between the two." Software connects every function enabling manufacturers to streamline the process and increase productivity. Since software can potentially be the key to America's manufacturing resurgence, we investigated hiring demand for Software Developers in manufacturing.

In February, there were more than 8,500 job ads posted online for Software Developers in the manufacturing industry, representing 8% of all Software Developer demand. Despite declining 9% in the past year when comparing February 2013 to February 2012, hiring for Software Developers in manufacturing is 61% higher than demand seen at this time 4 years ago.

Most In-Demand Software Developer Job Titles

  1. Software Engineer
  2. Senior Software Engineer
  3. Systems Engineer
  4. Embedded Software Engineer
  5. Applications Engineer
  6. Associate Software Engineer
  7. Senior Software Engineer
  8. Principal Software Engineer
  9. Senior Embedded Software Engineer
  10. Software Development Engineer

On average, it is likely to be moderately difficult to recruit Software Developers in manufacturing, scoring a 59 (out of a possible 99, where 99 indicates hard-to-fill.) 5 metro areas score below 20 on our Hiring Scale.

Best Cities to Recruit Software Developers and Their Hiring Scale Scores

  1. Sioux Falls, SD – 5
  2. Santa Rosa, CA – 14
  3. Rochester, MN – 15
  4. Green Bay, WI – 16
  5. Allentown, PA – 18

Each of the cities listed above are currently experiencing low hiring demand. In locations with higher demand, such as San Jose (sc0re 65) and San Diego (score 63), recruiting conditions are likely to be more difficult. Below is the nationwide heat map of hiring difficulty. Green indicates metro areas with the most favorable recruiting conditions.

Hiring Scale Heat Map for Software Developers in Manufacturing

Hiring Scale for Software Developers in Manufacturing

SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

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Is the US Making Manufacturing Jobs?

By Ashley Rowe on March 7, 2013 in Manufacturing.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that American manufacturing is outpacing its global competition. Featuring data released by the Institute for Supply Management, the article shows that in the last 3 months, US factory activity expanded at its highest rate since the economic recovery began. This increase is attributed to growing consumer and business spending, the housing recovery, and growing global trade. Below is a chart displaying the expansion and contraction of US manufacturing since 2008.

Manufacturing Expansion

SOURCE: The Wall Street Journal

As manufacturing activity grows, we wondered if hiring is also increasing. Did job volume follow a similar pattern as manufacturing expansion? During the past 4 years, hiring demand reached its lowest point in April 2009. However, demand has grown each year since then. There were more than 191,000 job ads posted online in January 2013, which represents a 3% year-over-year increase. Will we reach a new high in demand in 2013?

Hiring Demand for the Manufacturing Industry

Hiring Demand for Manufacturing Jobs

SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

Employers in the manufacturing industry are most commonly advertising for the following job titles:

  1. Sales Representative
  2. Merchandiser
  3. Production Supervisor
  4. Software Engineer
  5. Manufacturing Engineer
  6. Customer Service Representative
  7. Administrative Assistant
  8. Quality Engineer
  9. Maintenance Technician
  10. Sales Manager

Currently, the most manufacturing job ads appear online in New York (NY), San Jose (CA), and Los Angeles (CA). In the New York metropolitan area, the pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing sector had the highest hiring volume. The San Jose metro area saw the most job ads placed by the semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing sector. Computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing had the most job ads online in Los Angeles. Nationwide, the navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing sector experienced the most demand. Below is our heat map of hiring activity throughout the nation. Dark blue indicates locations with higher job counts.

Job Volume Heat Map for the Manufacturing Industry

Job Ad Volume Heat Map of Manufacturing Jobs

SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

Are you recruiting in the manufacturing industry? Find out what hiring demand and talent supply are like in your city with a free trial of WANTED Analytics.

Already an Analytics user? Log in here. We've already added the manufacturing industry for you. Just add your location, occupation, and any other requirements. Select 'Generate Report' to view hiring demand and talent supply data.

Hiring Food for Thought

By Ashley Rowe on December 2, 2012 in Manufacturing.

The news of Hostess Brand's shut down saturated news outlets and social media. The coverage will most likely continue as Hostess products lines are sold off to other companies. In the wake of the decline of the snack cakes, we were curious to see what hiring trends look like in the food manufacturing industry. Do you need to stock up on food manufacturing employees like consumers are stocking up on Twinkies?

As of October 2012, the volume of job ads in the food manufacturing industry increased 21% year-over-year. The highest point in demand was during July with just over 11,000 job ads. The specific food category fruit and vegetable canning had the most job ads, while mayonnaise, dressing, and other prepared sauce manufacturing saw the biggest increase in hiring demand over the past year with 304% growth. Not all food areas saw the same growth. Other snack food manufacturing decreased .09% in the past year.

Hiring Demand for Food Manufacturing Jobs

Hiring Demand Chart for Food Manufacturing

SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

Chicago (IL), New York (NY), and Philadelphia (PA) experienced the highest volume of demand. Out of these cities, New York (NY) had the highest year-over-year growth, growing 379%. The heat map below shows the metropolitan areas with the highest and lowest amount of jobs ads.

Job Volume Heat Map for Other Food Manufacturing Jobs

Hiring Volume Heat Map for Food Manufacturing Jobs

SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

The most in-demand titles that employers are advertising for nationally include:

  1. Merchandiser
  2. Production Supervisor
  3. Route Sales Representative
  4. Maintenance Mechanic
  5. Baker
  6. Maintenance Supervisor
  7. Maintenance Technician
  8. Retail Sales Merchandiser
  9. Supervisor Processing
  10. Retail Sales Representative

Throughout the country, Recruiters are likely to find recruiting conditions fairly difficult. Salisbury (MD), Bakersfield (CA), and Springfield (MO) present some of the least difficult hiring conditions partly due to low demand in relation to larger talent pools. In Springfield, job ads are posted online for 2.5 weeks less than the national average (4.5 weeks vs. 6 weeks nationally).

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Analytics users: log in and enter your food manufacturing industry in the industry filter, add your location, occupation and other requirements.

Is a Shortage of Manufacturing Workers in the Making?

By Ashley Rowe on November 17, 2012 in Manufacturing.

According to a study by Boston Consulting Group, the shortage of skilled manufacturing workers is currently estimated at 80,000 – 100,000. However, that number can increase to 875,000 for certain skilled workers – like machinists, welders, industrial-machinery mechanics, and industry engineers – by the end of the decade. BCG considers increasing wages in some of the largest manufacturing areas to be an indicator that demand is outpacing supply. We looked at hiring demand to get a better picture of the hiring outlook in manufacturing.

The current qualified skilled workforce contains over 13,000,000 candidates. Meanwhile, there are 91,000 job ads posted online. With more than 142 candidates for every job ad, this doesn't look like a shortage just yet. However, the chart below shows that manufacturing hiring demand has been steadily increasing. Hiring demand increased 3% year-over-year as of October 2012. The highest point in demand was in March this year with nearly 200,000 job ads. BCG said, "rising US exports-combined with production brought back or 'reshored' from China-could create 2.5 million to 5 million US jobs in manufacturing and related services by the end of the decade." Based on this estimate, the volume of job ads posted online might continue to climb and a shortage may become more apparent.

Hiring Demand Growth Chart for Manufacturing Jobs

Hiring Demand Growth Chart for Manufacturing Jobs

SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

BCG says the occupations with the shortest supply are machinists, welders, and industrial-machinery mechanics. Considering this information, we took a look at the most commonly advertised job titles listed below. None of the titles that were considered in "short supply" rank in this list.

Most Commonly Advertised Job Titles

  1. Sales Representative
  2. Merchandiser
  3. Production Supervisor
  4. Software Engineer
  5. Manufacturing Engineer
  6. Administrative Assistant
  7. Customer Service Representative
  8. Quality Engineer
  9. Maintenance Technician
  10. Sales Manager

The industry faces challenges such as a soon to be retiring workforce, negative perception towards the industry, low wages, more technical equipment requiring technical skill sets, and existing workers becoming fatigued by working more days and longer hours to make up for the lack of employees. Do these factors increase hiring difficulty? Nationwide, hiring conditions are likely to be moderately difficult. Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, NJ ranks among the metro areas with the least difficult recruiting conditions.

Hiring Scale Heat Map Snapshot

Hiring Scale Heat Map

SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

In the article Skills, Job Gap Widens for Local Manufacturing Firms, different sources suggest that manufacturing firms can improve workforce hiring and retention by paying higher wages or incorporating attractive training programs. What suggestions do you have?

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Will Robotics Bring Manufacturing Jobs Back to the US?

By Ashley Rowe on September 13, 2012 in Manufacturing.

Advances in technology will be pulling manufacturing jobs away from China and bringing them back to the US, according to business trends spotted by Foreign Policy. The next generation of robots is less expensive than human manufacturing labor in China. We can expect to see more robots on the assembly line and we will need candidates to fill positions at the facilities that will be housing robotic labor.

Below are the most in-demand occupations for robotics skills in manufacturing:

  1. Maintenance Technician
  2. Manufacturing Engineer
  3. Controls Engineer
  4. Electrical Engineer
  5. Welder
  6. Mechanical Engineer
  7. Weld Engineer
  8. Process Engineer
  9. Automation Technician

Based on these titles, it doesn't look like robots will be taking over. Robots need caretakers for installation, handling, maintenance, troubleshooting, management, programming, and operation.

We may not have assembly workers like we once did, but this is an indication of new skill demand and potential job growth in the US labor market. As you can see in the chart below, volume of job listings online for robotics skilled workers in manufacturing has been rising. Hiring demand for robotics workers in manufacturing surpassed pre-recession demand in March 2012 with over 700 job ads. Since it's lowest point during the recession, hiring for this skill increased 218%.

Hiring Demand Growth Chart – 4 Year Hiring Trend

Hiring Demand Growth Chart
SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

It appears moderately difficult to hire a professional skilled in robotics. However, when combining this skill with manufacturing experience, the search for talent becomes even more difficult. The green in the Hiring Scale heat map below highlights areas that are less difficult to recruit in. Atlanta, GA has the most favorable conditions for sourcing talent. Cleveland, OH and Detroit, MI have the highest demand, most likely for auto and auto parts manufacturing. San Jose, CA has the largest supply of candidates – probably due to vast amount of tech knowledge in the Silicon Valley area that creates the automation software used in robotics.

Heat Map of Robotics Skills in Manufacturing
SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

Fitting with the areas of the highest job volume, auto and auto parts manufacturing make the list of industries with the most demand for robotics skills. They are also accompanied by some healthcare and machinery related industries. Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing has seen the highest growth in the past year.

Most In-Demand Industries for Robotics Skills in Manufacturing

Industries Requiring Robotics Skills
SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

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Manufacturing Hiring Demand Increases – But For Which Jobs?

By Abby Lombardi on August 13, 2012 in Manufacturing.

July's Employment Situation Summary from the BLS announced that the manufacturing sector added 25,000 new jobs in July, marking the tenth straight month of job growth. Jobs in manufacturing have been watched closely as many see this as an indicator of overall economic health. With growing jobs, we wanted to look at what jobs are in demand and any other trends in talent supply.

Last month, there were more than 188,000 jobs advertised online by manufacturers in the US. Overall, hiring during 2012 so far has in fact been strong and has been higher than pre-recession times.

Hiring Demand in Manufacturing Sector – 4 Year Hiring Trend

Hiring Demand in Manufacturing Sector

Source: WANTED Analytics

Below are the 10 types of manufacturing industries that saw the most available job ads. Pharmaceutical manufacturing led this sector with more than 13,000 jobs being advertised online in July. We also see 2 computer manufacturing industries in the below list. With the increased access to computer and technology, this is somewhat expected. Does the volume of hiring in any of these industries surprise you?

Manufacturing Industries with the Most Online Job Ads – July 2012 vs. 2011

Manufacturing industries with the most job ads in July

Source: WANTED Analytics

So what jobs are most in demand? Before looking at hiring demand by individual field, we assumed that engineering and production jobs would have the most job ads. However, we were surprised to see that technical fields were most in-demand, with a combined 34,000 jobs in July. Overall, manufacturers increased their demand for technical occupations by more than 13% over the past year. Rounding out the top 5 occupational fields were engineering, management, production, and sales related jobs. Also interesting is that of the production related occupations, Managers and Supervisors are most commonly recruited – not as many technicians or production workers.

The most commonly advertised unique job titles are listed below. Anything here surprise you?

  1. Sales Representative
  2. Merchandiser
  3. Production Supervisor
  4. Software Engineer
  5. Manufacturing Engineer
  6. Customer Service Representative
  7. Administrative Assistant
  8. Quality Engineer
  9. Maintenance Technician
  10. Sales Manager

Another surprise to us was where the jobs were located. We assumed we would see high ad volumes around the Great Lakes, with Detroit, Minneapolis, and Cleveland areas being located around there. However, the New York metro area actually leads the US in manufacturing hiring demand. More than 9,000 jobs were advertised in the NY area in July. Los Angeles and San Jose saw the second and third highest demands. Are companies moving jobs to other areas of the US? Or are the technical jobs moving east and west to New York and Silicon Valley tech hubs?

Heat Map of Ad Volume in the Manufacturing Industry

Heat Map of Ad Volume in the Manufacturing Industry

Source: WANTED Analytics

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Will Manufacturing Hiring Demand Turn Around in 2012?

By Abby Lombardi on February 24, 2012 in Engineering, Manufacturing.

Since hiring among manufacturers is often seen as a key to economic recovery, we took a look at hiring trends in this industry to see if things are beginning to pick up. Hiring has been somewhat unsteady over the past few years. It seemed that hiring demand in this sector began improving in 2011, but declined drastically during the last several months of the year and ended in December at the lowest point in 2 years. However, in January 2012, there were 52,000 job ads posted online and despite being down by about 3.5% compared to one year ago, this represents an uptick compared to December. Will hiring continue to increase in 2012 to pre-recession levels?

Hiring Demand in the Manufacturing Sector – 4 Year Hiring Trend

hd

Some of the industries within the manufacturing sector that had the highest levels of hiring demand are in the below chart. Despite seeing the highest volume of job ads, hiring in the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing industry is down about 44% compared to January 2011, one year ago. Interestingly, Electronic Computer Manufacturing also declined in January (compared to 2011) whereas Computer Storage Device Manufacturing increased. Soft Drink Manufacturing experienced one of the highest year-over-year increases at more than 120%, despite being last on the below 10 industries with the highest demand.

Manufacturing Industries with the Most Job Ads – January 2012 vs. January 2011

industries

The most demanded field by manufacturers during January was engineering. Combined, engineering jobs accounted for more than 9,600 of the jobs advertised in the manufacturing sector. Industrial Engineer were the single most advertised occupation in January, with more than 4,200 job openings. Mechanical Engineers and Electrical Engineers were also highly in demand. Also appearing as most demanded jobs were several Computer and IT occupation (such as Software Engineers and Computer Systems Analysts), Marketing Managers, Production Managers, and Sales occupations.

So, where are these jobs located? The majority of postings were placed for openings in the New York metro area. Los Angeles, Chicago, San Jose, and Boston rounded out the top 5 cities.

Hiring Trends in the 5 Cities with Highest Manufacturing Hiring Demand

cities

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