Manufacturing dead? No, not really Tuesday, October 29, 2002 One of the challenges we face as EDPros is understanding trends in the broader economy. Too often, we have fallen victim to simplistic thinking. Perhaps the biggest simple (wrong) thought is that "Manufacturing is dead". It's not. Certainly, the number of manufacturing jobs is declining nationwide, but the productivity growth in manufacturing is one of the great untold stories of the U.S. economy. (This myth is promoted by bonehead comments, like those from Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao. Earlier this year, she was quoted as saying that we are a service economy and no longer a manufacturing economy.) As EDPros we should be more concerned about productivity than jobs. Why? Because productivity measures how well we are producing income. We want jobs that produce lots of income for our communities. Manufacturing jobs do that. But not just any manufacturing jobs. They must be jobs that require higher levels of skills. Low skilled manufacturing jobs are moving off shore. (A recent AP news article outlined how maquilladora plants on the border of Mexico and the U.S. are closing up shop and moving to lower cost locations like China and Vietnam.) Higher skilled manufacturing jobs produce lots of income for a community. A good review article in Industry Week points to the trend. Communities across the country are finding important manufacturing niches to develop. Learn more. Go posted by Ed Morrison |		This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. links Some Background on EDPro Weblog The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it. One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information. So, spread the word...Share the knowledge. Tell a friend about EDPro Weblog. If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site: Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber: Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking. Background on Ed Morrison Download some background information on me here.

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