2018 Was Record Year for Manufacturers Optimism

In the 20 years that The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) has been measuring the sentiments of the manufacturing sector, 2018 stood out. On average this year, 92.4% of manufacturers surveyed reported a positive outlook for their companies, according to the groups. Manufacturers Outlook Survey for the fourth quarter of 2018, released on Dec. 20.
Putting a damper on the positive outlook, however, was the inability to attract and retain a quality workforce remained manufacturers top concern (68.2%) in the fourth quarter, followed by increased raw material costs and trade uncertainties.
The workforce shortage has forced more than one in four manufacturers surveyed to turn down new business opportunities. According to the latest government data, there are now 522,000 open manufacturing jobs in the United States (an all-time high). A new report from The Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte project that 2.4 million manufacturing jobs will go unfilled over the next decade.