Horizons Fall/Winter 2019

INDUSTRY UPDATE MANUFACTURING & DISTRIBUTION

Battling the Labor Shortage in the Manufacturing Industry by Brent Stevens, CPA, CGMA & Dan Besmer, CPA

I t comes as no surprise that the manufacturing industry is significantly impacted by the unsavory combination of increased consumer demand/growth potential and historically low unemployment rates. According to a recent study by the National Association of Manufacturers, the manufacturing industry represents approximately one in six private-sector jobs in the United States. The negative impact on the industry has been magnified by the increased demand for skilled labor and STEM talent,

as well as the looming retirement of the babyboomer generation in the work place. According to a Society of Human Resources Management report, nearly 27% of manufacturing workers are expected to retire sometime in the next decade. There has been and will continue to be a large volume of economic data published on how and why labor shortages are occurring in the manufacturing industry.

Most, if not all manufacturers have developed a formal or informal strategy around the retention of their existing workforce.

Fall/Winter 2019

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