American manufacturers on track for most optimistic year in at least 2 decades: Survey
By Brittany De Lea
Fox Business
October 5, 2018
Manufacturers appear to be more optimistic in 2018 than they have been in at least two decades.
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) quarterly outlook survey showed that in the third quarter, 92.5 percent of manufacturing executives had a positive outlook for their business. In 2018, manufacturers are on track to record their highest confidence levels in the survey’s 20-year history, thanks in part to the Trump administration’s economic agenda, which included comprehensive tax reform and reduction in regulations. Over the past four quarters 94 percent of industry leaders, on average, were optimistic about their prospects.
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Employers are expecting to raise wages by 2.7 percent over the next year–the fastest pace since 2001–as attracting high-quality talent remains difficult.
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In September, the U.S. economy added 18,000 manufacturing jobs, the Labor Department said on Friday.
