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RI: In manufacturing here, wages rise, jobs plummet
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- As Rhode island's manufacturing industry has shifted from traditional manufacturing techniques to advanced processes, manufacturing pay has risen while the number of people working in the industry has plummeted.
In 2001, average yearly earnings in manufacturing was $36,801, according to the state Department of Labor and Training. By 2011, that had risen 38 percent to $50,827, keeping ahead of inflation.
But, over the same decade, the number of jobs in manufacturing plummeted 40 percent, from 67,580 to 40,354, according to the department's Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.
During that time period, manufacturing fell from being the leading employer in Rhode Island to fifth, following health care, government, retail trade and hospitality.
In 2001, average yearly earnings in manufacturing was $36,801, according to the state Department of Labor and Training. By 2011, that had risen 38 percent to $50,827, keeping ahead of inflation.
But, over the same decade, the number of jobs in manufacturing plummeted 40 percent, from 67,580 to 40,354, according to the department's Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.
During that time period, manufacturing fell from being the leading employer in Rhode Island to fifth, following health care, government, retail trade and hospitality.
http://news.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/2012/11/reinvent-ri-in-manufacturing-here-wages-rise-jobs-plummet.html
This in a nutshell captures the state of manufacturing in America: Low tech, high wage manpower intensive manufacturing is dead and won't come back. Manufacturing has become a high tech enterprise that requires a smaller but more educated and skilled work force.