U.S. Industrial Manufacturing Industry to Create Close to 8,300 Jobs in First-Quarter 2013 as New Plants Begin Operations

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--With the national unemployment rate remaining high in the U.S. and job creation remaining a hot-button topic, any kind of job growth that can be generated is a positive thing. The majority of the new industrial jobs created each month come from additions to existing manufacturing plants, which tend to be a steady source of new jobs, albeit not one that generates huge numbers. Another method that provides a steady supply of jobs each year in the U.S.--although one that does not get as much attention--is when plants that have been under construction begin operations. There are projected to be almost 8,300 jobs created in such facilities that are scheduled to begin operations during the first quarter of the year in the Industrial Manufacturing Industry.

Click on the image at the right to see a graph detailing the expected number of new jobs in the Industrial Manufacturing Industry in the first quarter of 2013 by U.S. region.

Grassroot construction--those types of projects that lead to new jobs when the plant becomes operational--had slowed during the last half of 2012 within the industry. The presidential election in November, combined with the "fiscal cliff" debates of December, caused quite a bit of uncertainty in the industry, and companies took a wait-and-see attitude to grassroot construction for several months. While projects did begin construction, it was at a slower pace than traditionally seen.

One positive was the mild beginning of winter, which offered companies decent weather to get these types of projects off the ground. If this weather pattern holds through the balance of winter, the industry could see a significant increase in grassroots project activity, which will lead to additional jobs in the future.

A total of 44 grassroot plants are expected to complete construction in the Industrial Manufacturing Industry during the first quarter of 2013. These plants are expected to generate 8,298 jobs across the country, with two regions garnering the lion's share of the jobs. The Southeast region is expected to see 17 plants begin operations, which will create just more than 3,000 jobs, while the Great Lakes region will add another 11 plants and 2,870 jobs to the total. The drop off after these two regions is rather large, with the Northeast and New England regions each expecting 550 jobs to be created during the same time period as a result of three plants becoming operational in each region. The Mid-Atlantic region will add another three plants and 339 jobs, and the Southwest region will see 225 jobs created as two plants are brought online, but the balance of the regions will see minimal job creation. The state with the most significant activity in this area will be Indiana, which will see 2,240 new jobs created as five plants begin operations.

It is expected that this method of job creation will ramp up somewhat as the year progresses. While Congress' continued fight over spending certainly will curtail investment early in the year, significantly more projects should be planned by this summer, which could result in additional job gains near the end of the year. The delays in getting these projects started will certainly give 2014 the potential to be a banner year for job creation at grassroot plants, depending on how severely next winter hits the U.S. Hopefully, more projects will actually reach the completion stage, creating additional jobs in large numbers before the end of 2013, but it is difficult to judge at this point as many companies are still waiting to see how severely the consequences of Washington, D.C. affect their bottom lines. While the year is starting off at a slower job creation pace than usual, it should at least partially recover before the year ends.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.