LANSING, Mich. — There are more than 47,000 unfilled professional trades jobs in Michigan, according to the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO). The U.S. Secretary of Labor, Eugene Scalia, visited a Jackson industrial plant looking to fill a number of those jobs on Monday.
Manufacturing is crucial to Jackson’s economy with businesses like Alro steel, Dawn and the Eaton Corporation providing jobs throughout the city. But it was Classic Turning Inc., which specializes in the aerospace, medical and military industries that Rep. Tim Walberg, (R) Michigan, chose for the visit.
"We had a number of plants we looked at. In Jackson, it wasn’t the problem of thinking about what plant I can bring him to. We took this because of the uniqueness of it with the new constructions going on, the addition of employees, the type of product they’re putting out here, which touches Eaton Corp and all of the rest," said Walberg.
Owner Phillip Curtis says Classic Turning has seen record growth. The company made a $3 million investment in equipment and hired 30 people in the year.
"Our business is booming. We've been on an upcurve for 3 or 4 years. There's no end in sight that we can see," said Curtis.
Curtis says the only problem is he needs more employees to fill 40 to 50 jobs.
"We probably, on the second shift, half of our machines are idle at night because we can't find people to run them and we have orders for jobs we can't fill," said Curtis.
The demand for skilled trades jobs is an issue Secretary Scalia focused on during his visit.
"There’s a problem, which is what the congressman and I were focusing on when we were at the school this morning. We were talking to folks about it here. When I meet with businesspeople their biggest concern right now is finding skilled workers. Our economy is so robust right now that they are going unwanted," said Scalia.
In Jackson, Hillsdale, Livingston, Lenawee, Monroe, and Washtenaw there are projected 4,185 openings annually, according to LEO. That number is expected to rise to 49,600 by 2026.
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