Industrial employment in Vermont has fallen 5.6 percent since the beginning of the recession according to the 2010 Vermont Manufacturers Register, an industrial directory published annually by Manufacturers' News Inc. MNI reports Vermont lost 2,894 manufacturing jobs since December 2007, with 1,197 jobs lost between December 2007 and December 2008 and 1,697 industrial jobs from 2008 to December of 2009. Over the same period of time, Vermont lost 154 manufacturers, or nearly ten percent of its industrial companies. Looking back even further, over an eight-year period, Vermont lost 9,921 industrial jobs or 17 percent of its industrial employment.
Manufacturers' News reports Vermont is now home to 1,516 manufacturers employing 48,360 workers. Vermont's losses are smaller compared to those seen in other New England states with Maine's industrial sector down 7.7 percent, New Hampshire's down 7.5 percent and Massachusetts' down 6.4 percent, according to earlier MNI reports.
"As with the entire nation, the recession continues to hit Vermont's core sectors, while the faltering housing market has affected industries such as wood products and building products," says Tom Dubin, president of the Evanston, Ill.-based publishing company, which has been surveying industry since 1912.
Employment in the furniture/fixtures sector experienced the sharpest decline, down 33.4 percent over the past 24 months, due mostly to layoffs at Ethan Allen.
MNI reports electronics remains Vermont's largest manufacturing sector by employment with 8,259 jobs, with no significant change reported over the two years. Second-ranked food manufacturing accounts for 5,234 jobs, down 8.6 percent over the survey period, while third-ranked industrial machinery and equipment accounts for 4,508 jobs, down 3.8 percent over the past 24 months.
Most other sectors in Vermont lost jobs within the past two years and include transportation equipment, down 15.4 percent, following the closure of auto supplier Lydall Inc., and layoffs at NSK Steering, among others. Stone/clay/glass fell 14.7 percent; textiles/apparel were down 11.3 percent; lumber/wood, down 10 percent; printing/publishing, down 7.9 percent; and chemicals/allied products, down 7.1 percent. Slight gains were seen in paper products, up 2.8 percent; rubber/plastics, up 2 percent; and fabricated metals, up 1.8 percent.
Despite the losses, some bright spots have emerged recently including the openings of Vermont Wood Pellet Company; rubber protective gear maker AirBoss in Milton; and BEMAG Transformers, which opened a factory in St. Albans Industrial Park in early 2009.
MNI's city data shows Essex Junction is the state's top city for manufacturing employment, accounting for 6,905 industrial jobs, up 4.5 percent over the past 24 months. Second-ranked Burlington accounts for 3,790 industrial jobs, down 8.7 percent over the past two years. Industrial jobs in Rutland declined 2.2 percent, with the city home to 2,120 jobs. Milton is home to 1,929 jobs, up 1.5 percent, while jobs increased another 1.5 percent in South Burlington, with the fifth-ranked city representing 1,710 of Vermont's industrial jobs.
