Since the recession officially ended nearly 21/2 years ago, manufacturing production has increased 15 percent.
By TOM RAUM
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is making a strong election-year push for an economic revival “built on American manufacturing.”
But he faces an uphill slog, with little consensus even within his own party on how to do it.
For decades, the United States has gradually shifted from creating goods to providing services. Fifty years ago, a third of U.S. jobs were in manufacturing. Now they account for just 9 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A manufacturing renaissance is being preached from the White House, on the GOP campaign trail and in Super Bowl commercials.
Economists suggest plans to help boost manufacturing jobs may make more political sense than economic sense.
Obama’s prescription for a manufacturing comeback will be fleshed out in the new budget he submits on Monday. He is proposing tax incentives to companies that move their overseas operations back to the United States, along with tax penalties for those that don’t, more training and additional education.
But few of his ideas are likely to be enacted in this highly-charged election year.
Since the recession officially ended nearly 21/2 years ago, manufacturing production has increased 15 percent.