Aerospace employment increased in March to 651,700, a slight increase over the 2007 year-end average of 645,600.
'This is good news for aerospace manufacturers and for workers looking for good jobs because the opportunities will continue,' said AIA President and CEO Marion Blakey. 'While overall manufacturing employment has declined, our civil, defense and space sectors are strong with a record backlog of orders fueled by major export growth.'Aerospace employment has climbed steadily since hitting a low in 2003 of 587,100. Employment is tied closely to record industry sales, which reached $198.8 billion in 2007 and are expected to eclipse $210 billion in 2008. The industry is facing a potential workforce crisis as scores of employees reach retirement age. According to AIA statistics, almost 60 percent of the U.S. aerospace workforce was age 45 or older in 2007. 'As the workers that won the Space Race and the Cold War get ready to retire, there is a whole world of opportunity in this industry,' said Blakey. 'We can't encourage the next generation of workers enough to study math and science so as to take advantage of the enormous number of exciting career opportunities.' |
