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Why aren't Americans filling the manufacturing jobs we already have?

⁨57⁩ ⁨likes⁩

Submitted ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨MicroWave@lemmy.world⁩ to ⁨economics@lemmy.world⁩

https://www.npr.org/sections/planet-money/2025/05/13/g-s1-66112/why-arent-americans-filling-the-manufacturing-jobs-we-already-have

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  • Asafum@feddit.nl ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    The answer is pay…

    I live in a VHCOL area and the factory that I work at is still looking to hire people at $17/hr… That’s taco Bell wages. Hell at this point that’s less than taco bell wages around here…

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    • VitoRobles@lemmy.today ⁨8⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago

      I was in a teacher conference and some parents were flipping out that she wasn’t providing after school support to their dipshit child. She pointed out she makes 41k.

      That’s $20.50 an hour. She could work at Costco for $30 an hour.

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    • nokturne213@sopuli.xyz ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      That is what the soda bottling plant paid back in '96.

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      • Fredselfish@lemmy.world ⁨54⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago

        To be fair the factory in town in paying me 24.24 an hour and it still isn’t enough to deal with the damage it is doing to my body. I am already looking for another job. And this shit union, but goddamn at 45 can’t do it. Also it reported that it will be 120 to 130 degrees Fahrenheit this summer is inside. Also working 12 hour switch shifts suck too.

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      • Asafum@feddit.nl ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        I feel like this is one of the major issues we face when it comes to pay. The people setting the prices are stuck living in 2000 thinking they’re offering a good wage, then “The Market” does it’s thing and every asshat looks at every other asshats offerings and sets their wages similarly…

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  • Lucky_777@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Pay more.

    Manufacturing jobs are damn boring. Having worked at a manufacturer (as the IT guy). Workers on the floor spend 8 hours a day doing the same task all day. It’s boring af.

    So have been working the same job for decades, but moving up? Not happening. You could be a manager and get a few dollars more an hour.

    You can get a factory job easy. Stay clean and show up. You just won’t be rolling in money.

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    • immutable@lemm.ee ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      I think there is something of a concerted effort to lionize these boring jobs that used to support a family.

      It is amazing how many country / blue grass songs are about coal mining.

      The thing the wealthy don’t seem to understand is that what made these jobs worth identifying with was that they could support a family. People were proud to provide a good life for their loved ones.

      They are hoping they can get people to identify with the jobs, be proud of them, without having to hold up their end of the bargain.

      The entire world right now seems to be the wealthiest people going “can’t I have a little bit more though?”

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      • CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        I think some of lionization may have roots in the need to recognize and legitimize those professions as a prerequisite for unionization, and to recognize post hoc the men and women who struggled to unionize and get respect in the form of reasonable working conditions and pay.

        Coal mining has almost never been enough to support a family, though it was regular work. Regular work is a thing of the past in Appalachia.

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    • themeatbridge@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Yeah, back in the day, you didn’t need to be a manager to generate upward mobility. You could work 40 hours a week and pay for a house, a car, and a college education without going into debt.

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  • njm1314@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    From the article it seems like the answer probably seems to be a mix between pay and more importantly training. If these businesses want specialized workers they have to be willing to train these workers. You got to make an investment in your Workforce.

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  • flandish@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    when eggs are rare the price of eggs goes up. the same holds with labor. the issue is not americans filling jobs, it’s employers paying proper wages for them.

    oh no, profit will take a hit? where is your priority? that’s right, it’s to the shareholders. :/

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