Obama’s Plans to Boost US Manufacturing Jobs

July 8, 2011 under Articles
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The economic recovery that should have been occurring during the last two or three years is taking longer than expected. Many people are still unemployed, and of those of us who do have jobs right now, many are suffering from uncertainty.

The answer to our sluggish recuperation from the Great Recession may lie in the manufacturing sector. Last week, President Obama delivered a speech at the Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA in which he outlined plans to revitalize the US manufacturing industry and boost job growth.

This initiative, called the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership, calls for an investment of $500 million to jumpstart the plan. The Partnership would bring together government agencies, corporations and universities for research and development projects in manufacturing.

Obama believes that if we utilize these different resources and invest in information technology, biotechnology, and nanotechnology, we can enable the creation of solid manufacturing jobs in the US.

By reducing costs, improving quality, and accelerating product development using these various technologies, we can ultimately create a renaissance within the American manufacturing industry.

In addition to revitalizing the industry within the US and creating jobs in our country, these investments will also help us compete with the rest of the world in manufacturing technology. The United States is a nation that was built on inventing and manufacturing, and Obama believes that we can make this happen once again.

Obama said that the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership would not just create jobs for the future, but also for right now. This could be the final measure that takes us out of the last leg of our lethargic economic recovery.

This necessary and immediate call for action could be because Obama is up for re-election in 2012. He realizes that he must make certain moves to once again to gain our country’s love and support. Obama came out swinging in 2008 with big ideas of turning our country around, speaking of change and new hope.

Over the last few years, he lost a lot of that original support when the job market and overall economy never got better. Now is the time to make up for it, and Obama realizes this.

By investing into the technologies that produce revolutionary ideas, new jobs will be created, breakthroughs will be made, and the manufacturing sector will boom once again in the United States.

Then again, it seems like this should have happened three or four years ago, when the economy was really suffering. People are still recovering from massive job losses and the big slump in the manufacturing industry a few years ago. For Obama’s sake, hopefully the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership isn’t too little too late.

 

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Job Outlook Better for College Grads

June 17, 2011 under Articles
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It’s always reassuring to hear good news about the job market. The Great Recession has been tough to pull through, and we are still in the final stages of making our way out. Cities like Detroit might never fully recover from the fall of the auto industry, and high unemployment rates have affected people all over the country.

But things are looking better. Unemployment rates are falling, companies are starting to hire again, and we are almost at the point where we are not dreading a pink slip or closed doors every time we go in to work.

College graduates can begin feeling a little better about spending the last four years and thousands of dollars in school. A recent article by the New York Times reported that employers are hiring 19% more college graduates than last year.

Graduating from college is tough. Not just because it requires hours of cramming for tests, late nights, early hours and lots of stress. But also because once college is over, you are now forced into the real world, where bills need to be paid and food needs to be put on the table. Coming from the university into an uncertain job market can be disconcerting and can almost make you want to never leave school. Unless you’ve got Mommy and Daddy paying all your bills, if you can’t make it out there, you just might end up on the street.

So to hear that statistics for employment upon graduation are improving as we are pulling out of the recession is wonderful news. Especially when compared to last year’s numbers that showed 95% of graduates with bachelor’s degrees either getting jobs or continuing their education. An improvement on 95% is almost an A+.

Average starting salaries for graduates are rising as well. This depends upon your field of study, but overall, college grads are getting paid more fresh out of school than they have been in recent years. The demand and pay are even better for those who studied finance, accounting, information technology and engineering.

Of course every silver lining has a touch of grey (to quote the great words of Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter). Some fields do not fare so well. Government hiring has gone down 25%, so those looking for work in the public sector might be having a tough time. Teaching jobs are also hard to come by, with schools still cutting back on the “unnecessary” courses like music and art.

Things may be getting better in some areas, but overall it still seems like a struggle out there. Inflation keeps going up, but there are still plenty of folk who have been earning $10 an hour for the past decade with no raise. Gas is another story in itself. When will it end? $5.00? Or will the prices just keep going up until the majority cannot afford to drive anymore? What then?

It’s too soon to say that college grads have one less thing to worry about, but at least they don’t have to worry quite as much as they did a few years ago.

 

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