Manufacturing Jobs Down, Earnings Up; Wage Gap Widens

Manufacturing employment in Georgia declined in the second quarter of 1999. The number of manufacturing jobs in Georgia, which totaled 593,800 in June 1999, dropped by 0.4 percent between the first and second quarters of 1999. This decline is less than that experienced by the nation as a whole (0.6 percent) or by many Southeastern states. Florida was the only Southeastern state with an increase in manufacturing jobs in the second quarter of 1999. Georgia's apparel and printing and publishing industries saw the largest declines in number of employees between the first and second quarters of 1999. (see Chart 3.1).
    Average hourly earnings for manufacturing employees in Georgia rose in the second quarter of 1999, to $12.42 per hour in March. Hourly manufacturing wages were up by 3 percent over one year ago. However, Georgia wages were still $1.40 below the national average and below the average for the Southeast. The gap between Georgia and U.S. manufacturing wages increased slightly in the second quarter of 1999 compared to the second quarter of 1998.

Chart 3.1

Manufacturers Involves in Inter-firm Networks Experience Significant Benefits

Productivity (measured by value-added per employee) is higher in manufacturing firms that make use of external assistance resources (see previous Georgia Manufacturing Vital Signs). We find similar benefits for firms participating in inter-firm networks. More than half of Georgia manufacturers participate in inter-firm cooperative activities with other manufacturers (Source: respondents to 1996 Georgia Manufacturing Survey.) Identification of shared industry problems and needs is the most common inter-firm activity, undertaken by 42 percent of manufacturers. Next most frequently reported, by 20 percent of manufacturers, are cooperative manufacturing and cooperative product design and development, followed by cooperative marketing (14 percent), cooperative training (13 percent), and quality assurance/ISO 9000 user groups (10 percent).
     Participants in interfirm-activities experienced several manufacturing performance accomplishments. Manufacturers engaged in cooperative operating activities (for example, product design and development, manufacturing training, marketing, quality assurance) rather than just information sharing, are more likely to use modern manufacturing technologies and techniques than those not so engaged, even controlling for facility employment size and industry.
     Likewise, manufacturers engaged in cooperative operating activities have 5 percent more employees using a computer or programmable machine control on a weekly basis as part of their jobs than nonparticipants, again accounting for employment size and industry. Manufacturers involved in cooperative design/new product development or cooperative marketing networks are more likely to have a growth in value-added per employee than those not so associated.
     The bottom line: effective inter-firm networking is a crucial capability that can aid high-performance manufacturing. (See Chart 3.2.)

Chart 3.2