Georgia's manufacturing employment dropped 2.2 percent over the past 12 months, according to the Georgia Manufacturers Register, an industrial directory published annually by Manufacturers' News Inc. MNI reports Georgia lost 12,771 manufacturing jobs and 256 manufacturers since April 2006.
"Georgia's job losses echo those seen all across the Southeast as manufacturers, particularly those in the textile industries, continue to be lured by cheaper labor costs overseas," said Tom Dubin, president of the Evanston, Ill.-based publishing company, which has been surveying U.S. industry since 1912. "Also, in today's manufacturing, fewer employees are needed due to automation and technology; instead of four assembly line workers, now you may have just one controlling the manufacturing process through a computer."
MNI reports the textile/apparel industries account for 87,000, or 15 percent, of Georgia's industrial jobs, down 6,604 jobs, or 7 percent, from April 2006 and down 46 manufacturers (4 percent) over the same time. Major textile plant closings over the past 12 months include Rabun Apparel Inc. in Rabun Gap, and a weaving plant in Hartwell. A combined 1,200 jobs were lost as a result.
The food sector accounts for 72,000 Georgia industrial jobs (13 percent), with 43 percent of those workers employed in poultry slaughtering and processing, up 5 percent from last year. The lumber and wood sector represents another 34,000 jobs (6 percent), and is down 2.6 percent from 12 months ago. Sectors showing increased employment include radio & TV communications equipment, up 2,120 jobs, commercial printing, up 1,341 jobs, and surgical/medical instruments, up 796.
Printing and publishing accounts for the most Georgia manufacturers, with 1,624 companies listed in the new edition, up 2.6 percent from a year ago. Industrial machinery and equipment accounts for 1,405 manufacturers, down 2.9 percent over the past year, while third-ranked metal fabricating represents 1,125 plants, with no significant change reported.
Manufacturers' News reports Georgia is home to 11,596 manufacturers employing 569,608 workers. MNI surveys both large and small manufacturers, including small start-up companies with just a few employees.
Northwest Georgia accounts for the largest share of the state's manufacturing jobs, with 339,337 jobs (60 percent) of the state's industrial employment, down 1.7 percent from April 2006. Northeast Georgia has the second most at 87,176 jobs (15.3 percent), down 4.7 percent, while South Central Georgia accounts for 59,025 jobs, down 2.8 percent since last April. The Southeast accounts for 7.8 percent of the state's jobs and the Southwest 7.6 percent, with these regions down 3.7 percent and 6.8 percent, respectively.
MNI's regional analysis shows Georgia ranks 12th in the nation for manufacturing plants, and 11th for jobs, and accounts for 16 percent of the Southeast's manufacturing. Georgia's losses reflect those seen in much of the Southeast with South Carolina losing 2.8 percent of its manufacturing employment, Alabama 2 percent, North Carolina, 1.3 percent and Florida 1 percent, according to earlier reports from MNI.
Atlanta is Georgia's top industrial employer accounting for 10.5 percent of the state's manufacturing employment, or 60,080 jobs, and is home to 1,070 plants. MNI reports Atlanta ranks among the top 50 cities in the U.S. by manufacturing employment, ranking 18th in the nation and fourth in the Southeast by number of industrial jobs. Dalton is the state's second-largest industrial employer, accounting for 33,954 manufacturing jobs (6 percent) of the state total. Norcross ranks third with 16,847 jobs, while Marietta and Alpharetta rank fourth and fifth with 16,886 and 15,382 jobs, respectively.
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