The Question:
Are you worried that America has lost too many manufacturing jobs over the past 20 years?

75% - Yes, and we should do what we can to bring those jobs back to the U.S.

25% - No, the 21st century economy naturally has fewer manufacturing jobs

Jim’s Comments:
It is the height of understatement to say that the issue of creating and preserving manufacturing jobs is complicated. Manufacturing jobs are influenced by globalization, technology, politics, capital markets and customer expectations, just to name a few.

Nevertheless, when Americans are asked what should be done about manufacturing jobs in the U.S., the response, as we see with our poll this week, almost always indicates that the solution is simpler than it really is.

As you can see above, three-fourths of our respondents said “Just bring the jobs back,” while the rest are more willing to acknowledge the forces that are influencing the evolution of the marketplace. I will have more to say about this in the next week or so. Stay tuned.