BY THE NUMBERS
18.5 million: number of U.S. jobs supported by manufacturing
12 percent: manufacturing comprises 12 percent of U.S. gross domestic product
$77,000: annual average salary of manufacturing workers in the U.S.
2,600: amount of National Manfacturing Day events hosted across the country in 2015
Local manufacturers are struggling to find skilled workers to fill positions in an industry that experts say still plays a vital role in bolstering Dayton’s economy.
Businesses are attempting to dispel false notions about the manufacturing industry by opening their doors to local youth on Friday during National Manufacturing Day. Throughout the country, companies will highlight an industry that supports more than 18.5 million jobs in the U.S.
“We survey companies and not being able to find skilled workers is the top issue every single year,” said Zannah Staggs, program manager for the Dayton Region Manufacturers Association.
Manufacturing employment in the Dayton area has been cut in half the past 26 years. From September 1990 to August 2016, the most recent month available, the number of workers employed in manufacturing in the Dayton metro area fell from 80,000 to 40,500, according to the Federal Reserve.
From a low point of June 2009 — technically when the last recession ended — the number of Dayton-area workers in manufacturing has slowly increased, from 35,300.
Jim Zahora, president of Noble Tool Corp. in Dayton, said his company is finding workers. But there are challenges: Applicants want a job, but they want a first-shift job.
“We have a hard time trying to find people for off-shifts and production work,” he said. “That has been a problem. It seems like we’re always looking for good people.”
To meet the need, Noble retrains current workers. And the firm takes part in Manufacturing Day each year, opening its doors to school field trips and trying to draw younger applicants.
Zahora has about 25 employees at Noble Tool. But his workforce’s average age rests somewhere in the mid-50s.
Hence the urgency. Zahora said he knows Manufacturing Day works.
“They’re really engaged,” Zahora said. “I think even the younger students get engaged, too. It just opens their minds up. They have a perception of manufacturing. And then when they come and actually see what it is today, I think it’s totally different than what their perception was.”
Approximately 54 companies, 42 local schools and more than 4,000 students are expected to participate in local events for manufacturing day. The increase of participants since the event’s inception has been “remarkable,” Staggs said. In 2013, 10 companies had open houses and about 150 students attended.
Companies involved include NuVasive, Staub Manufacturing Solutions, Oerlikon Friction Systems, GemCity Engineering and Manufacturing, Dayton Progress and Basetech.
Students will take a tour of local facilities, learn about the latest equipment and technology, and talk to local owners and workers in the field.
Ruben Perez, senior director of manufacturing for San Diego-based medical device and spinal implant maker NuVasive Inc., said the company is finding the workers it needs so far for its new West Carrollton plant.
“We feel very good at this point in time … tons of candidates are coming through with the skill sets,” Perez said. “We’re engaging with local colleges to create a pipeline” of new employees.
At the start of 2016, the influx of candidates was “rather slow,” he acknowledged. But since then, the company held open houses and job fairs and invited local media to the newly refurbished, $45 million Liberty Lane plant to help spread the word.
“Things are looking really good,” he said. “Tons of activity.”
Thirty-eight employees have been hired so far for the West Carrollton site, and NuVasive intends to hire another 40 between now and December, he said.
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