Michigan jobs and the presidential election
Michigan jobs received national attention last week as presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton visited Detroit and Warren, respectively, to tout their economic plans. Trump's speech at the Detroit Economic Club used Detroit's history of economic troubles to malign Democrats, while Clinton's speech at advanced manufacturing company Futuramic Tool and Engineering in Warren used that company's success as an example of the direction of manufacturing in the United States. [The Detroit News]
Lear may move jobs from Mexico to Detroit
Nearly 5,000 manufacturing jobs could arrive to metro Detroit by way of Mexico, thanks to ongoing talks at the Lear Corporation. Conrad L. Mallett Jr., chief administrative officer for the Detroit Medical Center and board member of Lear, discussed the matter at the recent NeighborWorks Training Institute in Detroit. The international auto-supplier Lear is headquartered in suburban Southfield. [
Detroit Free Press]
The biggest trend in Michigan jobs reporting lately isn't the creation of jobs or a jobs shortage, but the lack of a skilled workforce.
Short on workers
Sherri Welch writes that the Michigan agriculture industry faces difficulties in staffing many of the jobs required to keep the food stream running, from produce pickers to farm equipment mechanics. Much of this has to do with the more isolated, rural locations of farms, far from the population centers of Michigan, she says. [Crain's Detroit Business]
In a guest column for mLive, Chad Cushman, vice president of Owosso-based motorcoach business Indian Trails, Inc., scratches his head over the difficulties his and similar companies face in hiring drivers—and it's not for lack of trying. Cushman says the company offers paid training, competitive wages, and full benefits as part of its compensation package. Lisa Katz of Crain's agrees, writing that with more than 7,000 online job postings, truck drivers were the most in-demand occupation in the second quarter of 2016. [
MLive.com]
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