Not willing to risk reduced hours and unemployment, young workers are avoiding traditional manufacturing jobs. Once an attractive industry because of its high wage jobs that required little formal education, the manufacturing recession and resulting layoffs have reduced the number of workers by 3.6 million since 1980. Phyllis Eisen, vice president of the Manufacturing Institute, which plans to release a study in March, believes that many students, parents, and educators view manufacturing jobs as "dark and dirty and dead-end," despite the fact that manufacturing jobs on average pay 22% higher. Some fear this trend, combined with upcoming retirements, will result in a loss of manufacturing talent that will prevent the industry from emerging from recession.
See "Manufacturing's woes drain its pool of workers", Melissa Allison, Chicago Tribune, February 23, 2003