Industrial employment in Virginia shrank by 1.9 percent over the past 12 months, according to the 2008 Virginia Manufacturers Directory, an industrial guide published annually by Manufacturers' News Inc. MNI reports Virginia lost 7,419 manufacturing jobs since November 2006, the second consecutive year of losses MNI has reported for the state.
"This is a trend we've seen in other states," says MNI president Thomas Dubin. "Even though manufacturing activity and output are at record highs, industrial employment is stagnant or declining. Part of it is the result of manufacturing jobs moving out of the country, and of mergers, acquisitions and consolidation, but much of it has to do with the nature of today's manufacturing. Thanks to automation and technology, fewer employees are needed. Instead of four low-skilled workers on an assembly line, you now may have one worker entering numerical codes into a computer that controls the manufacturing process."
Manufacturers' News reports Virginia is home to 7,483 manufacturers employing 380,700 workers. Virginia ranks 18th in the nation and fourth among Mid-Atlantic states for number of manufacturing plants and jobs, accounting for 12.4 percent of the region's manufacturers and 9.8 percent of its jobs.
Virginia's jobs losses reflect those seen across the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, with Maryland/DC's industrial jobs down 1.7 percent; West Virginia down 1.5 percent; Pennsylvania down 2.3 percent; and North and South Carolina down 1.3 percent and 4 percent, respectively, according to earlier MNI reports.
MNI reports the transportation equipment sector posted the largest employment loss, down 9 percent, or 3,856 jobs, and ranks as the largest industrial employer in the state, representing 10 percent of Virginia's industrial employment, or 38,502 jobs. Most of these losses were seen in truck and bus body manufacturing, down 2,411 jobs, or 40 percent, over the 12-month period.
Job losses were also seen in paper manufacturing, down 1,215 jobs (7.5 percent); rubber products manufacturing, down 1,320 jobs (4.7 percent); chemicals, down 920 jobs (4.8 percent); and textiles/apparel, down 533 (2.7 percent). Food products manufacturing accounts for an additional 10 percent of the state's industrial employment, or 38,327 jobs, up 352 jobs (1 percent) over the year. The printing and publishing sector employs 9.4 percent of the state jobs, a total of 35,996, up 935 (2.6 percent).
Richmond is home to the most industrial jobs in Virginia, representing 9.6 percent of the state's manufacturing employment, or 36,652 jobs, up a half percent since November 2006. Newport News is home to 27,009 industrial jobs, down 7.3 percent over the past 12 months, while Roanoke accounts for 12,781 jobs, up 3.6 percent over the year. Norfolk represents 14,161 of the state's jobs, down 15 percent after Ford Motor Company closed their Norfolk assembly plant in June. Lynchburg accounts for 11,843 Virginia jobs, up 113 (1 percent) over the year.
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