NAM: Manufacturers Added 12,000 Workers On Net In 2023 Manufacturing employment rose by 6,000 in December, according to the National Association of Manufacturers’ Economic Report released January 8. NAM reports, “Overall, hiring was quite sluggish in 2023 among manufacturers, with the sector adding 12,000 workers on net, following robust gains in 2021 and 2022. On the positive side, manufacturing employment has re- mained resilient, hovering near 13 million workers all year, with 12,986,000 in December. “The average hourly earnings of production and non- supervisory workers in manufacturing jumped 0.9 percent to $27.16 in December, with 5.8 percent growth over the past 12 months. That was the strongest year-over-year pace since April 2022, which was a 40-year high. “Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 216,000 in December, and the unemployment rate remained at 3.7 percent. With that said, the labor force participation rate dropped from 62.8 percent to 62.5 percent, its weakest reading since February. “There were 547,000 manufacturing job openings in November, a four-month low. This data continues to reflect a labor market that remains solid despite notable cooling over the past year, with manufacturing job openings still above pre-pandemic levels (but that gap is narrowing). “For every 100 job openings in the U.S. economy, there were 71.6 unemployed workers. As such, there continued to be significantly more job openings than people active- ly looking for work, even as that ratio narrowed notably in 2023. Manufacturing continued to remain challenged, contracting for the 14th straight month, but with the ISM Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index improving from 46.7 in November to 47.4 in December. The underly- ing data were mixed. “New orders for manufactured goods rose 2.6 percent in November, buoyed by strength in nondefense aircraft and parts, which can be highly volatile from month to month. Total factory orders edged up 0.1 percent exclud- ing transportation equipment. Overall, new manufactured goods orders have risen 2.1 percent year to date, with factory orders excluding transportation equipment up 0.4 percent in the past 11 months. “New orders for core capital goods (or nondefense cap- ital goods excluding aircraft) — a proxy for capital spending in the U.S. economy—rose 2.0 percent to a record $74.0 billion in November, with 1.4 percent growth year to date. “Private manufacturing construction rose 0.5 percent to a record $209.34 billion at the annual rate in Novem- ber. Manufacturing construction has soared dramatically, up 59.4 percent year-over-year, as the sector continues to make significant increases in the capacity in the United States, spurred by industrial policy and a desire to produce more goods here. This should bode well for future growth in manufacturing activity in the U.S. moving forward.”
Board Converting NEWS INTERNET DIRECTORY
SAUER SYSTEM www.sauersystem.com
Sauer provides intelligent solutions for scoring, slitting, slit-scoring, and perforating on corrugators and floor slitters; and glue tab cutting, creasing, slotting, trimming and scrap chopping on presses. New, featured offerings include FRX Adjustable Folding Rail System and G3 Scoring System: the latest proven creasing technology on the market.
STAFFORD GROUP www.go2stafford.com
Interactive website for Stafford Corrugated Products and Stafford Cutting Dies. Featuring online ordering of replace- ment parts. Also, visitors can automatically calculate sheet size for most die-cut standards.
SUN AUTOMATION GROUP ® www.sunautomation.com
SUN Automation Group is the global leader in providing innovative solutions to the corrugated industry. SUN engi- neers and builds the SUN625 Rotary Die Cutter, provides sales, service and support in North and Central America for Latitude Machinery Corporation, manufacturer of Mini to Jumbo FFG and RDCs. Additionally, SUN is the North Amer- ican, UK and Ireland sales and service provider for Para Machinery’s line of equipment, and is the North American sales provider for Highcon. SUN also powers the corrugat- ed industry’s premier IIoT platform, Helios, and is the OEM source for Langston/Staley equipment parts and service. THACKER INDUSTRIAL SERVICE COMPANY www.thackerindustrial.com Specializing in corrugated machinery, T.I.S.CO. offers quali- ty-made products, support services, and more. T.I.S.CO. has a reputation of dependability, not only in the product, but in service and support. With more than 25 years’ experience, T.I.S.CO. installs equipment and machinery, moves or sets up entire plants, rewires and rebuilds - all over the world. VT GROUP www.vtgrouponline.com VT offers prepress services for the POP display and corru- gated shipping container industry including graphic design, optimized digitally imaged printing plates and innovative pre-mounting solutions. Our large-format digital printing fa- cility (Digital Impact) is a leading short-run manufacturer of distinctive POP displays and signage where litho-like graph-
ics are preferred. WPR SERVICES www.wprservices.net
WPR Services was established in 2016. What originally start- ed as a technical services company expanded its product offerings to include a machine center learning platform POWtalk™. Our analysis of video, audio, machine metrics, employee ergometrics, and person to person conversation provides a way to identify safety and process inefficiencies.
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January 15, 2024
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