Labor shortages are hitting manufacturers hard, and they’re coming in fast from many directions. What’s not so obvious is the extent to which the labor shortages are affecting manufacturers, the products they produce, the workers they employ, and the customers they serve.

According to a study by the Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte, the labor shortfall is so severe that up to 1.9 million manufacturing jobs could remain unfilled by 2033, posing a substantial threat to safe, quality manufacturing and industry growth.

Despite the rising figures, the labor shortage isn’t a new issue for manufacturers. In fact, when the Covid pandemic struck in 2020, the manufacturing sector was already facing a crisis resulting from a lack of skilled labor. The pandemic compounded that and dealt a severe blow to the sector, which lost 650,000 jobs in 2020.  

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