Georgia Manufacturing Vital Signs

Georgia Manufacturing Jobs Increasing, Earnings Pass Southeast Average

The number of manufacturing jobs in Georgia, which totaled 602,800 in December 1999, increased by 0.4 percent between the third and fourth quarters of 1999. (See Chart 5.1) This increase is opposite of that experienced by the nation, but consistent with increases in manufacturing employment in the Southeast. Florida, Kentucky, and Tennessee were the other Southeastern states with increases in manufacturing jobs in the fourth quarter of 1999. Georgia's furniture, industrial machinery, printing, transportation, and food industries experienced the largest increases in number of employees between the third and fourth quarters of 1999.
    Average hourly earnings for manufacturing employees in Georgia rose in the fourth quarter of 1999 to $12.83 per hour. Hourly manufacturing wages were up over 5 percent compared to one year ago and have been growing annually at 5 percent for the past three years. The average wage in Georgia now exceeds those elsewhere in the Southeast. However, Georgia wages were still below the national average of $14.11, despite the narrowing of the gap between Georgia wages and the national average in 1999. In the second quarter of 1999, Georgia wages were $1.45 below the national average; by the fourth quarter of 1999, average wages in the state were $1.28 below the U.S. average.

Chart 5.1: Manufacturing Employment

Environmental Management: It Pays Off--But Too Few Georgia Firms Are Taking Action

The 1999 Georgia Manufacturing Survey shows that concern with environmental performance produces tangible in-plant benefits. Rework and scrap rates for firms with ISO 14000 environmental certification average 2.0 percent. This is less than half the 4.2 percent rework and scrap rate for firms without ISO 14000. Also, a difference is seen in rework and scrap rates for firms that desire ISO 14000 training as opposed to those that do not (3.6 percent vs. 4.2 percent) and firms that want pollution prevention training versus those that do not (3.9 percent vs. 4.2 percent).  (See Chart 5.2)
    Concern with environmental management among manufacturers has risen less in Georgia than elsewhere. In the 1996 Georgia manufacturers survey, 1.1 percent of firms reported having ISO 14000 certification. In the 1999 survey, that number increased slightly to 1.3 percent. An additional 10.3 percent of firms plan to have environmental certification by 2001. In Germany, 6 percent of firms already have ISO 14000 environmental certification, with this percentage continuing to grow. In the 1999 Georgia survey, 15 percent of Georgia manufacturers said that environmental and energy issues represented important problems or needs. A similar survey conducted in Oregon showed that 51 percent of surveyed Oregon manufacturing firms perceived environmental, health, and safety compliance as a challenge. forty-eight percent of Oregon firms said they would like training in waste reduction and 40 percent in energy management, a much higher level that found in the Georgia survey.

Chart 5.2
ISO 14000 Use in Georgia