National Economic Outlook - August 2015

Written By:
Ingo Winzer, President

Local Market Monitor

One of the bright spots of the economy has been renewed growth in the manufacturing sector. This is partly due to greater automation - which makes labor a smaller part of overall costs - partly to political considerations, and partly to the lower cost of energy. Production has been up at a moderate rate across the board, in consumer products, business equipment, materials, and energy; only the Defense and paper industries are lagging.

Twenty years ago the US had 17 million manufacturing jobs, now just 12 million - and they now pay less than jobs in healthcare, go figure - but the economic benefits of MAKING THINGS extend well beyond the production floor. An economy with a growing manufacturing sector has much better prospects than one that just relies on services.

In July, jobs were up 2.1 percent over last year. They increased 3.5 percent in construction, 1.2 percent in manufacturing, 2.0 percent in retail sales, 3.0 percent in transport, 3.6 percent in business services, 3.0 percent in healthcare, and 3.5 percent at restaurants. Unemployment stayed at 5.3 percent.