A Manufacturing Surge Along Rte. 2?
North Central Massachusetts — anchored by the cities of Fitchburg, Leominster and Gardner — has long been a manufacturing region, buoyed by one of the country’s largest clusters of plastics makers.
And like manufacturing across much of the country, the North Central region has suffered over the past three decades, shedding many jobs.
But Barry Bluestone, an economist and dean of Northeastern University’s School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, said recent data show that the region and others like it are poised to ride an economic comeback on the back of its manufacturing sector.
After declining sharply through 2006, manufacturing employment in Massachusetts has begun to rise, Bluestone noted.
“And equally important, if you look at the share of manufacturing in gross state product, in terms of our total output, it’s actually been increasing, which is fascinating, he said.”
In 1997, manufacturing made up 9 percent of Massachusetts’ gross state product. That rose to 12.3 percent prior to the 2008 recession. The number then fell, but climbed back up to 11.4 percent in 2010, according to recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
After advances in productivity and the failure of weaker firms during the recession, what remains are largely strong and savvy manufacturers, Bluestone said.
Employment is still down, but he predicts manufacturers will start hiring more over the next 18 months.
Bluestone said growth will be driven by an expansion in foreign markets.
The tri-city area along Route 2 has its challenges, one of them being higher-than-average unemployment, though it recently dipped. The unemployment rate there was 8.8 percent in March, down from 10 percent a year ago, but still higher than the state’s 6.4 percent.
Yet, if a manufacturing renaissance is coming, the region may have a head start. Manufacturing employment as a percentage of total employment remains well above average in the region. Of those working, 16.2 percent have manufacturing jobs, compared to 7 percent statewide.
Bluestone said North Central Massachusetts has a history of “high value-added manufacturing” across multiple industries, and he thinks the future remains there.
The importance of manufacturing to the region has not been lost on officials at area colleges that help train workers for the industry.
Partnerships between the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce, area colleges and economic development groups have focused on the sector for a number of years.
There has been a focus on the manufacturing sector because of its presence in the area and the fact that it provides decent wages, said Jackie Feldman, vice president of lifelong learning at Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner.
“My overall thought is that manufacturing is key to the economic strength of this region,” she said.
In 2010, production-level manufacturing employees in Massachusetts made more than $20 per hour, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
But challenges remain. A sometimes negative perception of manufacturing jobs is persistent, said Feldman, who doesn’t think high schools are steering students toward the technical skills needed for a career in the sector.
Feldman said that though manufacturing no longer employs as many people as it once did in the area, it has evolved in positive ways and could be the key to an economic recovery.
Many manufacturing workers will retire over the next decade, Bluestone said, enough to ensure jobs for new workers, even if the sector grows slowly.
“The real problem as we go through this decade is ‘Where are those workers going to come from?’” he asked.
Area colleges are doing their best to answer that question.
To that effect, Mount Wachusett has brought more than $5.8 million in state training grants to the region over the past decade. The college works with area employers, many of them manufacturers, to design custom worker training programs, which are often grant-funded.
But workers who are already employed are usually the only ones eligible for such grants.
Keith Chenot, a professor of industrial technology at Fitchburg State University, said manufacturers want to experiment with new methods and technologies. He led a feasibility study — completed last year — that analyzed the potential for an advanced polymers research, technology transfer and training center. The idea came out of talks the chamber had with area manufacturers about what would best serve their needs.
“The region is looking at ways to take care of its people,” he said. “Taking advantage of what you already have is what I think is driving that.” n
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