Things flattened out a bit for manufacturing in July, but it’s hard to draw too many conclusions for the future. The stock market keeps shrugging off major concerns regarding the financial stability in Europe, the softening of manufacturing in China, and the uncertainties of the upcoming elections. Overall manufacturing continues to be a bright spot in an otherwise tepid recovery, including the addition of 25,000 new jobs in July.
The manufacturers that we work with seem to be taking a more aggressive approach to their businesses. They are hiring more sales and marketing talent, and continuing to upgrade talent across the board. We are also seeing salaries on the rise as the talent pool shrinks and companies are handing out raises as a preventative measure to keep their talented individuals from looking for more lucrative opportunities.