Look at this photo. It’s an iconic photo taken by Lewis Hine in 1920. It’s titled Powerhouse Mechanic Working on Steam Pump, which harkens back to that period in America’s history where the individualistic effort married innovation to propel the nation above all others.

America’s Backbone

Conquering a massive machine with a wrench in hand also speaks to a time where rugged hard working men were revered by a grateful public who used to stride from work to home with a sense of pride and purpose.

Industrialists took on public scorn, but the combination of visionaries and funding saw the boom that was the true underpinning of the Roaring 20s.

Hard working men who used new tools to manage massive new machines were America’s backbone. 

Out of the Great Depression, the trend resumed even with the appearance of Rosie the Riveter.

In the 1940s, more than one-third of the nation worked in factories. Surprisingly, it was also a period of peak labor participation for men.  

In fact, back in December 1949, 86.6% of American men were in the labor force- today it’s 69%.

Yesterday saw more bad news for men who work with their hands from the ADP employment report:

• Mining -6,000
• Construction -2,000
• Manufacturing -9.000

Keep in mind that these occupations have been under pressure for a long time with employment peaks:

• Mining - November 1979, 1.2 million
• Construction -July 2006, 7.7 million
• Manufacturing -June 1979, 19.5 million

Ironically, the nation is in the midst of a building boom – just look out the window of any city, and it’s likely that a crane is within sight. The nation is also on the cusp of a technology boom that is creating amazing opportunities.  

Somewhere in the midst of this, the country should be able to reverse the fortunes of blue-collar workers, especially those men that built the nation in the first place.

Today, we get employment from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which could come in better than expected, but it will not be those “dirty fingernail” jobs that set the tone.

Today’s Session

The jobs report was yet another disappointment with 156,000 net job creation and only 144,000 from the private sector. 

You don’t have to be a technician to see we limped out of the year with fewer and fewer jobs, bringing the monthly average to 180,000 from 229,000 in 2015 and 241,000 in 2014.

We’ll have more details for you on the afternoon note.

The good news is the nation survived, and from here on out, the focus is on a new day and new direction based on the renewed purpose of prosperity.

There is a chance the market could build a head of steam, but we don’t need to force the issue this morning ahead of the weekend.  We might do something later today so stay tuned. If you are not already a subscriber to our Hotline, email your account representative or info@wstreet.com to get started today. 

 

Comments

Charles: 100% right! Now it's the IoT (Internet of things), AI, etc. Importance of education (math & sciences) is at critical mass. Not happening fast enough. What, IYO, will it take to make this happen? Thanks for all you do and contribute. Robert Waddell on 1/6/2017 8:45:20 AM

Full time jobs predicted to be up 40% in 2017. Come on America. Now we just need a week where Obama, Kerry, McCain, and Graham don't give a speech. Chris Manley on 1/6/2017 10:14:28 AM

Hi Charles, Happy to see your coverage of bringing jobs back to the U.S. and how to train the required workforce. Please contact me re leading reshoring/workforce expert Harry Moser, pres. Reshoring Initiative for solutions to the skills gap. Some program detail below. Regarding expanding the manufacturing workforce, one reason for the shortage is too many students attending 4-year universities, resulting in a 40% excess supply of non-technical university graduates along with soaring student debt. The disconnect is in the perception of manufacturing careers. Manufacturing has shifted largely to modern, high-tech operations and pays on average 19% more than non-manufacturing jobs. The major obstacle is recruitment mainly due to three key issues: 1. Perception that training is not as important as degrees 2. Perception of ongoing manufacturing decline due to offshoring 3. Perception that vocations/trades training is lower prestige/income than a 4-year university degree The Reshoring Initiative’s Skilled Workforce Development Program is designed to change some of the misperceptions about manufacturing and help communities develop the skilled professionals needed to reshore manufacturing to the US http://www.reshorenow.org/programs/ Sandy Montalbano on 1/6/2017 1:45:32 PM

Math and science education is always the common remedy for job lost in manufacturing, construction, and mining. However, the foundation for education is reading and writing. Instead of pushing math and science first, our nation has to ensure a strong educational foundation. The answer then is the community college wherein those laid off women and men can acquire a strong academic foundation and a rigorous science, math, or technical education. Joyce Faison on 1/6/2017 4:22:11 PM

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