Deloitte Survey Finds Manufacturing “Vital” to U.S. Economy

A new survey on perceptions of the U.S. manufacturing industry published by professional services firm Deloitte found that the majority of Americans believe that manufacturing is “vital” to the country’s economic health.

83% of those responding in Deloitte’s 2017 US Perception of the Manufacturing Industry survey said that manufacturing – a major topic on the 2016 campaign trail – was “critical to economic prosperity” in America. Three quarters of respondents said that the country should invest more in its domestic manufacturing capabilities.

“Helping Americans’ perceptions of manufacturing catch up with reality is a vital step in addressing the skills gap, as the U.S. manufacturing industry continues to create diverse jobs involving advanced technologies and innovation,” said Michelle Drew Rodriguez, manufacturing leader for Deloitte’s Center for Industry Insights, in a statement. “The demand for these high-skilled positions is expected to soar over the next decade with 3.5 million manufacturing jobs becoming available between 2015 and 2025 as industry evolves and baby boomers continue to retire.”

Deloitte’s survey results indicate that the country’s notion of manufacturing as a low-tech industry are changing somewhat. While 64% of those surveyed said that they believe the U.S. manufacturing sector is presently “high-tech,” nine in 10 respondents, or 88%, said that they think future manufacturing jobs will require higher levels of technical skills. The majority also felt that the working in the industry in the coming years will involve less manual labor.

“More people understand modern manufacturing is high-tech,” said Seema Pajula, Deloitte & Touche LLP, vice chairman of Deloitte LLP, and U.S. Customer & Industrial Products industry leader, in a press release. “They expect jobs to involve innovation and advanced technology in the future, which is progress for the industry in realigning the image of what modern manufacturing looks like to the general public.”

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