[M.D. Holloway]

from an associate...

Out-Of-Work In Michigan: State Lost Nearly 20,000 Manufacturing Jobs Since February 2006
By Amy Radishofski, Staff Reporter, Manufacturing.net
Manufacturing.Net

Over the past 12 months, manufacturing in Michigan has lost 19,549 jobs, according to Manufacturers’ News, Inc. (MNI). It has also lost 2.3 percent of manufacturing employment since February 2006, bringing the total losses since 2001 to 116,000.

“The auto industry accounts for 24 percent of the state’s manufacturing employment, down 5.4 percent from last year,” said Tom Dubin, President of MNI. “Production cuts in this sector account for much of the plant closings and layoffs as suppliers to the big three automakers struggle to keep their facilities profitable.”

The report indicates that the relocation of companies is also a major contributor to the job losses, noting that 17 manufacturers with nearly 1,000 employees have moved to other states in 2006.

Michigan currently has 16,585 manufacturing companies with 827,094 employees. Most of the state’s manufacturing employment is in motor vehicle parts and accessories with 20 percent. Plastic products follows a distant second with 4.7 percent, according to MNI.

The state is 7th in the nation by number of manufacturing jobs, representing 4.3 percent of the nation’s industrial employment, the report added.

Detroit tops the list as the state’s largest industrial employer with 6.5 percent of the state’s manufacturing employment, but it slipped 3.7 percent from February 2006, the research showed.