The Sad Truth About U.S. Manufacturing Jobs: They Stink

The picture you see is Honda’s immense, fairly new, glimmering auto plant in Greensburg, Indiana. It’s located on I-74, between Indianapolis and Cincinnati. It’s the jewel of every state’s corporate recruitment effort—and the type of jobs that “will make America great again.”

No, they won’t—and here’s an explanation.

First, let’s say you’re unemployed and want a job there. You cannot apply for work directly with Honda. 

Like most U.S. manufacturers, they source the hiring to staffing companies. Basically, these firms do the first cut in the labor market. 

You might actually work at Honda for years—but not as their employee. In the case of Honda, you’ll be working—if hired, at all— for Elwood Staffing.

Here’s how they are currently hiring:

Assembly Workers

Elwood Staffing - 650 reviews - Greensburg, IN

$14.75 an hour

Get your foot in the door at Honda in Greensburg. County within the state of Indiana or Hamilton, Butler or Preble. LOOKING FOR A CAREER OPPORTUNITY?...

Now, let’s go to Greensburg's own website that trumpets its economic statistics:

I quote below. The stats green show that Greensburg does better than the average for a U.S. city. The stats in red show that Greensburg does worse than the average for a city in the U.S.:

The unemployment rate in Greensburg, Indiana, is 3.80%, with job growth of 2.24%. Future job growth over the next ten years is predicted to be 40.68%.

Greensburg, Indiana Income and Salaries

The income per capita is $21,076, which includes all adults and children. The median household income is $45,363.

  ECONOMY                                        Greensburg, Indiana                      U.S.

  Unemployment Rate                  3.80%                                                    5.20%

  Recent Job Growth                       2.24%                                                    1.59%

  Income per Cap.                             $21,076                                 $28,555

  Household Income                       $45,363                                 $53,482

  Family Median Income               $50,808                                 $65,443

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So, here’s the bottom line. If you want a large factory in your town, you’ll need to give the company a sweet tax and incentives deal to locate there because states and cities all over American will compete against you. 

You’ll have low unemployment—and your household income will lag far behind the average in the U.S. 

That’s not going to make America great again.