The first Friday of October is U.S. Manufacturing Day, often kicking off a week of celebratory manufacturing activities.
U.S. manufacturing contributes $2.87 trillion to the national economy and boasts approximately 13 million manufacturing workers making an average of $102,629 (2023) including pay and benefits.
Manufacturing exports in 2023 reached roughly $1.6 trillion. Only 2% (3,920 companies) of the 238,851 U.S. manufacturing companies (2021) are considered to be small businesses (having fewer than 500 employees).
Of small manufacturing companies, 93% have fewer than 20 employees, according to the National Association of Manufacturers.
According to the 2024 Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute Talent Study, the number of manufacturing establishments in the United States grew more than 11% between 2019 and 2023.
Manufacturing construction spending has tripled since 2020.
California manufacturing is also healthy, boasting 1.3 million workers in 30,000 companies representing 11.8% of California GDP, according to the California Manufacturers & Technology Association.
Sixty-four percent of California manufacturers have fewer than 25 employees, the Deloitte study found.
California manufacturing workers make more than employees in other states, with the state’s average manufacturing wage at $143,515.
In Santa Barbara County, manufacturing supports more than 12,000 jobs and about 10% of the county’s budget.
Numerous world-class and/or market-leading companies operate in northern Santa Barbara County.
North County manufacturing companies include:
- DenMat, a market leader in dental products and equipment
- Hardy Diagnostics, recognized globally for lab supplies and diagnostics
- Melfred Borzall, which is creating state-of-the-art horizontal drilling equipment
- Atlas Copco, a world center for hydro carbon turbine expanders
- Safran Cabin, a world leader in aircraft interiors and systems
- Excelta, a world-class small precision tool producer
- Adient, world-class seating solutions
- True Precision Machining, state-of-the-art design and engineering for aerospace, medical, military and other industries
- MobArmor, engineering and manufacturing heavy-duty mounts and holding solutions
- Aegis Industries, producing revolutionary coatings
About 8.4% of Lompoc workers are in manufacturing, 6.6% of Santa Maria workers and 5.3% of Buellton workers are in the manufacturing industry.
Blue-collar salaries in local manufacturing range from $20 to $75 an hour, while engineers working in county manufacturing firms can make $87,000 to $187,000 a year.
Despite talk of Artificial Intelligence and/or automation destroying jobs, all manufacturing advocates agree: manufacturing is on the rise, with both manufacturing business and jobs expected to increase over the next decade.
The Deloitte study estimates that the number of net jobs to fill in U.S. manufacturing between 2024 and 2033 will be 3.8 million.
This presents a workforce crisis familiar to local manufacturers as well as those at higher levels. According to Deloitte, as many as half of these manufacturing jobs may remain vacant due to a skills gap — if the talents needed are not developed.
The manufacturing industry, now a clean, high-tech, environmentally friendly field full of job and career opportunities for every worker prospect — recent high school graduates to Ph.D.s — has not yet made the transition to a popular career domain attractive to upcoming generations.
And some of those potentially interested lack the basic reading, math and technical skills for even the most entry-level positions.
To address these issues in northern Santa Barbara County, and support manufacturers seeking to promote their wealth of high-wage opportunities, EconAlliance is hosting a Manufacturing Forum from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9, at the Santa Maria Inn, 801 S. Broadway. A reception with manufacturers and community leaders will follow.
The keynote speaker is Elsa Wadzinski, a senior economic development specialist with the California Employment Training Panel, which funds worker training.
In addition, EconAlliance will present its 2024 Northern Santa Barbara County Manufacturing Skills Assessment.
And Allan Hancock College dean of academic affairs Tom Lamica will facilitate an industry/career adviser conversation about ensuring student awareness of local manufacturing industry opportunities and preparing next-gen workers with skills to compete.
Click here for more information or to register for the forum.