Made in America is making a comeback.
A post pandemic manufacturing boom has increased profits and
created scores of new jobs.
I would say it's probably more than scores of new jobs.
Many more scores of new jobs, but more workers are still needed.
CNN Chief Business Correspondent Christine Romans is here.
I assume it's more than like multiples of 20, right?
Because that would be scores.
It's, it's a lot.
It's thousands actually.
John, these days it's less Rosie the Riveter and more
Rosie the Robotics Technician.
These are highly skilled, highly paid factory jobs in big demand.
They gave me an official offer today.
One open position filled.
This is our open requisition job book.
Countless more still open.
The number of jobs is just, it's just incredible.
At this training facility in Pittsburgh, job seekers are learning
new skills to seize on a post pandemic spike in manufacturing.
What's really heightened the issue of the, of the big need and the big
demand for these types of individuals is with the coupling of COVID.
And the individuals that we're already looking to retire in
the next three to four years.
Neil Ashbaugh is president and CEO of New Century Careers.
Come back.
It's a non profit for adults looking to enter the industry in the most
competitive environment in years.
We have individuals that are completing these skilled training
programs and yet are going out on five, six, seven interviews.
And those companies are all competing for that single
source, uh, skilled individual.
Learn
Since 2020, U.
S.
manufacturing has increased its profits by more than 200 billion, offering
hundreds of thousands of jobs each month.
So what's behind the latest boost?
At the Jenison Corporation, workers are busy making everything from firefighters
equipment to construction machinery.
Hayden Jenison says recent supply chain issues overseas mean more new customers.
It was taking months for parts to not only get manufactured but come across and they
decided that they were willing to pay U.
S.
manufacturing pricing to be able to get that much faster.
Pricing and product demands have changed drastically in recent years.
When service industries became scarce over the pandemic, demand for
consumer products and, of course, P.
P.
E.
And medical equipment kept factory workers essential
among the average consumer.
We did see that.
Hey, there's a real value for American made products.
Industry expert Erica Soda says new technologies.
They're also paving the way forward.
We often take a look at the images of manufacturing and we
see the sparks flying in a welding environment or perhaps a little bit.
dingy, dark, but by and large, our manufacturing jobs today are high tech.
But today's techs are also requiring higher salaries and more flexibility.
We've had to significantly raise our wages to stay competitive in the industry.
Jennison says there's enough work to staff another full shift at this facility,
but even at 20 to 30 an hour, Finding the right team has been difficult.
Hiring has been a problem since 2020.
Hiring experienced candidates that understand the industry
and understand what they're doing has been very difficult.
Newly trained candidates like Ishmael are glad to be coming in now.
Laid off during the pandemic, he's now in high demand.
After that happened, it was a little rough and tumble, but I
landed here and I'm actually pretty happy with how things turned out.