Eleven industries reported growth in December including fabricated metal products; machinery, computer and electronic products; transportation equipment; and electrical equipment, appliances and components. One respondent to the survey from the electrical equipment, appliances and components industry pointed out, "We continue to see strong demand for our product in Europe and Asia."

"The manufacturing sector continued its growth trend as indicated by this month's report," said Norbert J. Ore, CPSM, C.P.M, chairman of the Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. "We saw significant recovery for much of the U.S. manufacturing sector in 2010. The recovery centered on strength in autos, metals, food machinery, computers and electronics, while those industries tied primarily to housing continued to struggle. Additionally, manufacturers that export have benefited from both global demand and the weaker dollar. December's strong readings in new orders and production, combined with positive comments from the panel, should create momentum as we go into the first quarter of 2011."

Boosting employment
Although recently released unemployment numbers show an improvement, falling by 0.4 percentage points in December, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most of those jobs came in the leisure and hospitality and health care industries, leaving industries such as manufacturing and construction with stagnant numbers.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the country won't see "sustained declines in the unemployment rate" with the current rate of job creation, reported the Associated Press. Bernanke told the Senate Banking Committee that a "self-sustaining" economic recovery seems to be taking hold, but it could take four to five years of joblessness for the unemployment numbers to return to the historically normal rate of 6 percent.

However, some companies are beginning the year on a positive note when it comes to hiring. On Jan. 4, Bright Automotive, Rochester Hills, Mich., announced that it would be hiring 200 workers to help bring its IDEA plug-in electric-hybrid vehicle concept to market. The 200 positions will be based in Rochester Hills at the company's new technical center. Along with Bright Automotive's operations in Anderson, Ind., the facility will serve as the primary center for research, design and development of the IDEA vehicle.

Jobs in engineering, science and technology like the ones at Bright Automotive will be included in the top 10 job sectors of the future, according to research by Mary Walshok, Ph.D.; Tapan Munroe, Ph.D.; and Henry DeVries, MBA, in "Closing America's Job Gap."

Walshok, Munroe and DeVries say the top 10 sectors include embedded engineering, mobile media, occupational health and safety, English translation and foreign languages, renewable energy, teaching English as a foreign language, action sports innovators, geriatric health care and repurposing America's skilled and technical workers for new economy applications, including welding.

There appears to be some pent-up optimism in the manufacturing industry, and statistics like the ones released in December bolster that opinion. GE Capital Americas, Norwalk, Conn., www.gelending.com, recently released the second-wave results of its survey of CFOs of 530 mid-market companies in seven distinct industries across the United States, including metals and mining. Seventy-two percent of CFOs in this sector believe their revenues will increase in 2010, a number that's up from 68 percent in January. Thirty-two percent of the CFOs also said their capital expenditures would be greater over the next year. If this spending can translate into jobs, the manufacturing sector will start to see a more sustainable recovery. FFJ