Manufacturing: Good for America, But Not for Americans?

While most Americans agree that having more manufacturing in the United States would be better for the country, much fewer U.S. residents could see themselves working in the sector.

In a survey by Cato Institute and YouGov, only 20 percent of Americans said that they'd rather work in manufacturing, while 80 percent said that more manufacturing would be good for the country. Only 2 percent of survey respondents said that they were currently working in manufacturing.

The discrepancy in replies might stem from the fact that fewer Americans today work in blue color occupations and that a well-paying job in manufacturing would only be an upgrade for this subset of the population as well as potentially some workers in lower paid service jobs. However, even if this is the case, it shows that the majority of the workforce in the U.S. has either moved past manufacturing as a lucrative job option or is otherwise not interested in employment in the sector. Manufacturing plants in the U.S. have in fact reported issues in finding enough suitable workers for some years and say that the problem is getting worse.

The survey also found that an equally high number of Americans - 79 percent - think that globalization has harmed American manufacturing. Confusingly, between 60 and 70 percent of Americans agree with principles of free trade as well as its benefits but also that trade agreements are cheating Americans and that globalization has hollowed out the middle class. 

62 percent said one year ago that they were in favor of tariffs when given the example of strengthening the American blue jeans industry. 58 percent would still favor this approach if it would make a pair of jeans $5 more expensive. This is shrinking to 34 percent in the case of a $10 price hike on jeans and to only 19 percent if they would become $20 more expensive.