Delaware saw a small decline in manufacturing employment over the past year, despite a national upturn on a national basis. The drop-off came in Kent and Sussex counties.
The annual report came from the 2015 Manufacturers Register, published by MNI of Evanston, IL.
The state lost 307 manufacturing jobs, a 1 percent drop from July 2013 to July 2014, in contrast to the 1.4 gain national average gain reported by the U.S. Labor Department. A substantial part of that gain has come from the turnaround of the auto industry in Michigan, Ohio and other states.
According to the report, Delaware is now home to 686 manufacturers employing 37,708 workers.
A five-year analysis from MNI shows industrial jobs in the state fell by 13 percent since June 2009, while government statistics reveal manufacturing employment in the U.S. overall climbed 3.4 percent during the same time period. During the period, the state lost both of its auto assembly plants. The decline would have been even greater if the refinery in Delaware City had remained closed. With the help of a state grant and privater investors, the refinery reopened under the ownership of PBF Energy.
“High business costs and global competition have made it difficult for Delaware to climb back from the recession,” says Tom Dubin, president of the publishing company, which has been surveying industry since 1912. “However, its educated workforce and stronghold in chemical manufacturing continue to be a draw for new businesses, particularly those focused on technology and innovation.”
According to Manufacturers’ News, the chemicals industry accounts for 11,165 jobs, or 30 percent of the state’s manufacturing employment, virtually unchanged during the survey period. Second-ranked food products accounts for 8,913 jobs, with no significant change reported over the year. Instruments/related products ranks third with 2,905 jobs, up 2.7 percent.
Losses were reported in paper products, down 13 percent, following the closure of Georgia Pacific’s Color Box site in Harrington, among others. Printing/publishing declined 5.3 percent ; furniture/fixtures fell 5 percent ; fabricated metals declined 5 percent; and industrial machinery dropped 2.1 percent. Gains were reported in lumber/wood, up 3.9 percent and primary metals, up 2.9 percent.
Bright spots for Delaware included the opening of a Grayling Industries plant, which shifted production of its asbestos removal safety products line to Seaford from Mexico, and the expansion of a GE Aviation facility in Newark.
Manufacturing companies in Kent County accounted for a majority of the losses, with industrial jobs down 8.6 percent over the survey period. Kent County manufacturers currently employ 2,954 workers. New Castle County accounts for 22,689 jobs, with no significant change reported, while Sussex County is home to 12,065, down a half percent.
Wilmington remains the state’s top state by industrial employment with 11,168 workers, down 1.3 percent over the year. Second-ranked Newark accounts for 5,174 jobs, down a half percent, while third-ranked New Castle is home to 3,341 industrial workers, up 2.2 percent . Manufacturing employment was virtually unchanged in Milford and Georgetown, with the two cities home to 2,506 and 2,397 jobs, respectively.
“This is yet another indicator, one of many, that shows Delaware continues to underperform, even in a weak overall US economy,” said Senate Republican Whip Greg Lavelle, north Wilmington in a weekly newsletter from the Senate minority caucus.
Democrats in the General Assembly formed a blue collar jobs task force that gathered information and made recommendations on ways to boost employment in manufacturing, construction and other areas.
Click here for further information on the MNI data base for Delaware.
