Industrial employment in Massachusetts fell 1.2 percent over the past year, according to the 2011 Massachusetts Manufacturers Register, an industrial directory published annually by Manufacturers’ News Inc. (MNI).
Manufacturers’ News reports Massachusetts lost 4,717 industrial jobs over the past 12 months, a significantly smaller loss than the decrease of 11,950 reported by MNI for the 2008-2009 survey period.
Manufacturers’ News reports Massachusetts is now home to 8,847 manufacturers employing 370,912 workers.
"Decreased demand continues to affect Massachusetts’ manufacturing industries, particularly its electronics sector and industries reliant on the housing market. However, we’re definitely seeing fewer job losses than we did a year ago, and the state’s continued investment in high-tech manufacturing and an educated workforce have improved the outlook," says Tom Dubin, president of the Evanston, Ill.,-based publishing company, which has been surveying industry since 1912.
Electronic products manufacturing remains the state’s top industrial sector, accounting for 48,757 of the state’s jobs, down 6.4 percent over the past 12 months following the closure of Analog Devices Inc’s Cambridge plant, and layoffs at Bose Corp., among others.
Industrial machinery and equipment ranks as the state’s second-largest industrial sector by employment with 46,906 manufacturing jobs, up 2.3 percent over the year. Third-ranked instruments and related products accounts for 45,519 industrial jobs, down 2.6 percent.
Bright spots for the state include the opening of Tyco Flow Control’s Advanced Nuclear Testing & Development facility in Mansfield; the opening of Nuclea Biotechnologies’ Nuclea Genomics Center in Pittsfield; the opening of a new production line at Fusion Optix in Woburn; the planned expansion of Coca-Cola’s bottling plant in Northampton; the opening of a TPI Composites wind blade facility in Fall River; and the recent announcement that Terrafugia Inc. plans to begin production of its Roadable Aircraft or "Flying Car," potentially adding 50 manufacturing jobs to its Woburn plant.
Manufacturers’ News reports Southeastern Massachusetts saw the largest drop in employment, down 4.7 percent over the past year, with the region currently accounting for 52,946 of the state’s industrial jobs. Western Massachusetts accounts for 45,663 industrial jobs, down 2.9 percent, while Northeastern Massachusetts saw a 1.2 percent drop and currently accounts for 112,017 manufacturing jobs. Employment in Central Massachusetts increased by 883 jobs or about a half percent, with the region home to 160,286 industrial jobs.
