Troubling news from the National Science Board (NSB)
The National Science Board (NSB), the policymaking body for the National Science Foundation (NSF), has issued a new government report that finds the U.S. losing 28 percent of its high-technology manufacturing jobs over the last decade.
Specifically, the NSB reports that the U.S. has lost 687,000 high-technology manufacturing jobs since 2000. At the same time, U.S. multinational corporations created research and development (R&D) jobs overseas at an “unprecedented rate,” while China emerged as the world leader in high-technology trade.
Said Scott Paul, Executive Director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM):
“We hope the NSB report will be read by every member of Congress, every candidate on the campaign trail, and every relevant policy maker in the administration. The report sheds new light on the challenge of maintaining a high-technology edge when we outsource so much production and research overseas.
“If we want to invent cutting-edge technologies—and make these products here—we must dramatically change course. We’ve outlined concrete steps that Congress and the administration can take to ensure that we maintain our manufacturing and technological edge in the decades to come.”