The problem of US
labor shortages is overstated. The US labor force is more than capable of
filling the manufacturing jobs that should be coming back from overseas.
Engineering jobs have been slowing down since 2000 and many of these jobs that
were decimated after 2008. The culprit is bad trade policy and bad tax policy
and it will take a while before these jobs are restored to the levels we saw in
the 1960s to 1980s.
Businesses are ramping
up after a decade of low activity. This has happened before. Engineers were in high demand from the 1980s
to 2000 and then declined severely.
Design work follows
the design cycle one business or one industry at a time. A design cycle can
last from 1 to 2 years depending on the product and if other products are also
upgraded, then engineers can finish one product and join the design team for
the next product.
From 1980 to 2000, the
electronics, PC, defense and telecom product upgrades dominated these decades.
But most of these engineers haven’t done engineering work for 20 years and many
have retired. In the meantime, the US
has not had a resurgence of engineering hiring, until now. The off-shoring of manufacturing from 1993 to
present decimated engineering jobs in the US for the past 20 years. So, why is
it a surprise that companies can’t find engineers?
The engineering jobs
listed on the job boards are spread all over the US and include the normal
engineering openings, but there is no sign of the type of industry product
upgrades we saw in the 1980s. Engineers prefer to live in larger cities that
have a lot of engineering jobs. They look for jobs that match their interests
and experience.
The industries that
need to upgrade their equipment includes electric utilities who need to
strengthen their grids and counties need to rebuild their aging water and sewer
systems.
The industries that
need to upgrade their capabilities include IT cyber security, government,
healthcare and education to become more efficient and lower costs.
After 2008, workers
were forced into service jobs and are now leaving those jobs to move into more
lucrative fields. That creates labor shortages in these service companies.
Those service jobs
that are minimum wage jobs in fast food, restaurants and retail should give
these jobs back to the teenagers.
Smart businesses with
specific needs are setting up specific training at community colleges. Temp
Services have also been effective to staff up.
In the 1980s, the
electronics manufacturing companies were ramping up in several cities and we
used community colleges and temp services to find permanent employees and it
worked. There is no reason it can’t work
today in 2018, but business hiring is now spread all over and is not in
concentrated areas.
Construction jobs
peaked in 2006 at 5.8% and fell to a low of 4.2% in 2010. It was back up to
4.6% in 2016. Most construction workers in the US in 2006 were illegal
immigrants. They built millions of new homes from the 1980s to 2007. When
residential home construction stopped in 2008, they left construction.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody
GA Tea Party Leader
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