Economics: USA Employment down, manufacturing up - thumbnail background & forecast

Steve Marr, inspiration behind and founder of Business Reform magazine, on BR Blogs reports the following info, asks the following questions, and invites comments:

In a little noticed report, the Federal Reserve reveals that U.S. manufacturing output increased .9% in June, the biggest improvement in 18 months. That means our total manufacturing output has reached record levels. But at the same time, manufacturing employment is dropping, with 1.5 million fewer manufacturing workers than in November, 2001. First, efficiency has increased dramatically, allowing fewer workers to produce more goods. Part of this is due to the investments made in computer and related technology, fueling a 15.5% increase in computer related output. The second factor driving the paradox is that our economy is migrating toward a service and information base, away from manufacturing. In 2004, manufacturing was only 12.7% of the GNP, down from 13.2% in 2001. Is your business more efficient? Is your business moving toward the information economy? How do you respond to these changes?

Business Reform Magazine, online edition, frontpage.