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Will manufacturing job losses be discussed tonight?
More than 3.2 million U.S. manufacturing jobs have been lost;
Heaviest losses hitting African Americans, Hispanics
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 28, 2007) – With 3.2 million U.S. manufacturing jobs lost since 2000, losses that have hit minority populations particularly hard, AAM is urging the Democratic presidential candidates to address the serious issues facing American manufacturers and workers in tonight’s All American Presidential Forum at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
In the five Democratic and Republican presidential candidate debates since April, only two questions out of more than 500 posed to the candidates individually and as a group have related to the economy, jobs and international trade issues, based on an analysis by AAM.
Tonight, according to forum organizers, the candidates will be asked about domestic issues, many of which are discussed in the book The Covenant with Black America, which outlines the 10 most pressing issues faced by African Americans. That list includes “Economic Prosperity.”
The reality is that the economic security of minorities is particularly vulnerable when it comes to America’s eroding manufacturing base:
- Since 2001, more than 300,000 African American men have lost jobs in the manufacturing sector, the highest rate of any ethnic group.
- Over the last 35 years, the percentage of African American men earning their living in factories has fallen from 25 percent to 10 percent nationally, and from 40 percent to 20 percent in the industrial heartland of the Midwest.
- The heaviest job losses for Latinos so far are concentrated in manufacturing and retail trade, which together account for 40 percent of all Hispanic unemployment.
“Every American has a stake in manufacturing,” said AAM Executive Director Scott Paul. “Americans deserve to hear a vigorous discussion about the very real challenges that threaten American manufacturing, challenges that are chipping away at the foundation of the American economy and the livelihood of countless American families.”
- Manufacturing is the largest single contributor to the U.S. economy – $1.4 trillion (12 percent) annually.
- As a share of gross state product, manufacturing is the largest sector in 10 states and in the Midwest region as a whole. It is the second largest in nine states and third largest in 21 others.
- Manufacturing directly employs 14 million Americans and supports 8 million more jobs in other sectors.
- Every 100 manufacturing jobs create as many as 700 new jobs in other job sectors.
Click here for a PDF of this release: 06.28.07 Talk Manufacturing & Economy
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The Alliance for American Manufacturing is a unique non-partisan, non-profit partnership forged to strengthen manufacturing in the U.S. AAM brings together a select group of America’s leading manufacturers and the United Steelworkers to promote creative policy solutions on priorities such as international trade, energy security, health care, retirement security, currency manipulation, and other issues of mutual concern. For more information: www.americanmanufacturing.org.
