FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jennifer Ratcliff
Manufacturers’ News, Inc.1633 Central St.
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 864-9440 ext. 241
jratcliff [at] manufacturersnews.com
EVANSTON, Ill, Jan. 17th, 2008/Manufacturers’ News, Inc/-- Industrial employment in
Virginia shrank by 1.9% over the past 12 months according to the 2008
Virginia Manufacturers Directory, an industrial guide published annually by
Manufacturers’ News, Inc. (
MNI) Evanston, IL.
MNI (http://
www.manufacturersnews.com) 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 Thomas Dubin, President of Manufacturers’ News. “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 4th among Mid-Atlantic states for number of manufacturing plants and jobs, accounting for 12.4% of the region’s manufacturers and 9.8% 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%; West
Virginia down 1.5%;
Pennsylvania down 2.3%; and North and
South Carolina down 1.3% and 4%, respectively, according to earlier
MNI reports.
MNI reports the transportation equipment sector posted the largest employment loss, down 9% or 3,856 jobs, and ranks as the largest industrial employer in the state, representing 10% 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% over the 12-month period.
Job losses were also seen in paper manufacturing, down 1,215 jobs or 7.5%; rubber products manufacturing, down 1,320 jobs or 4.7%; chemicals, down 920 jobs or 4.8% and textiles/apparel, down 533 or 2.7%. Food products manufacturing accounts for an additional 10% of the state’s industrial employment or 38,327 jobs, up 352 jobs or 1% over the year. The printing and publishing sector employs 9.4% of the state or 35,996 jobs, up 935 or 2.6%.
Richmond is home to the most industrial jobs in
Virginia, representing 9.6% 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% over the past 12 months while Roanoke accounts for 12,781 jobs, up 3.6% over the year. Norfolk represents 14,161 of the state’s jobs, down 15% after Ford Motor Co. closed their Norfolk assembly plant in June. Lynchburg accounts for 11,843
Virginia jobs, up 113 or 1% over the year.
Detailed profiles of
Virginia’s 7,483 manufacturers and 692 industrial distributors can be found in the 2008
Virginia Manufacturers Directory, available in print for $106 and on CD-ROM from $174. Each profile provides up to 30 facts, including vital contact information (phone, web, e-mail), names and titles of 22,809 key executives, product(s) manufactured, annual sales, number of employees, and more. Visitors to http://
www.mnileads.com may generate custom company selections using thirteen different criteria, including area or zip code, county, SIC, sales volume, number of employees, and more.
Manufacturers’ News, Inc., publisher of manufacturers’ directories since 1912, compiles and produces manufacturing guides, statistics and databases for all 50 states. For more information, contact
Manufacturers’ News, Inc., 1633 Central St., Evanston, IL, 60201, 847-864-7000, FAX 847-332-1100.
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