The decentralization of the manufacturing sector following World War II created an abundance of jobs across the United States, becoming one of the main economic sectors in the country. However, since the mid-1980s manufacturing has been declining in importance as firms begin to automate production and move operations abroad. Despite these trends, the manufacturing sector still constitutes an important part of local and regional economies in the United States, especially in rural areas. Therefore, it is imperative that policy-makers understand the strengths and weaknesses of their manufacturing base. Given the nature of the global economy, policy-makers need to identify areas of economic comparative advantage that they can build upon; and areas of economic vulnerability that they need to strengthen.
Increasingly, communities are focusing their development efforts at attracting quality jobs, rather than attracting the largest quantity of jobs. Given this preference, the skill level of the workforce is a crucial consideration in determining an economic development strategy. A community?acute;s chance of successfully attracting a particular industry rests heavily with the skill base in the community. Different types of manufacturing firms require different labor skills, and will locate to areas that best suit their labor needs. For example, high-skill firms may not locate to areas with a poorly educated workforce since they may have difficulty finding qualified employees. On the other hand, low-skill firms may not locate to areas with a highly educated workforce since they may have to pay higher wages. Successful economic development partly rests with matching an industry?acute;s skill demand with the available skill base in the community.
One method to measure the disparity between the demand of each skill level of an industry and the supply of each skill level in the local community is by using the Skill-Mismatch Index (SMI). Higher SMI values indicate a greater mismatch of labor force skills for that industry in the county. The SMI can be interpreted in two ways. First, ranking the SMI values for each manufacturing industry within a county provides a form of industry targeting, indicating which industries are best suited to the skill base in the county. Second, SMI values can be used in developing programs that strengthen labor force skills in order to make the area more attractive to selected industries.
The following maps present the SMI for each county, and give some indication as to the national competitiveness of Missouri?acute;s labor force skills in the manufacturing sector. It is important to note that a poor skill match does not necessarily mean that the county has poor educational levels. Different types of manufacturing firms require different labor skills, and will locate to areas that best suit their labor needs. For example, high-skill firms may not locate to areas with a poorly educated workforce since they may have difficulty finding qualified employees. On the other hand, low-skill firms may not locate to areas with a highly educated workforce since they may have to pay higher wages.
