My, the difference time makes!   Just 3 years after the financial and automotive bailouts, the jobs reports and economic turnaround data in the U.S. seem to be looking brighter from a number of different angles.  In particular in the manufacturing industry, the number of openings for skilled factory workers has increased 152% since 2009 according to a recent article from CNN Money.

The U.S. States with the greatest demand were Ohio, Michigan, Texas, California, Illinois and Indiana with jobs ranging from machinists and tool-and-die makers to computer-aided machine operators and similar specialties.   Starting salaries were as much as $45,000 to $50,000.  If you approximate that to $23 to $25 dollars per hour, that’s not too bad of a starting wage in this economy.

Unfortunately, however, the turnaround is still somewhat slow in pace for other parts of the world.

Economic Troubles Abroad:

While things seem to finally be turning a new leaf here in the States, the financial crisis in Europe is still rippling through the economy.  This can be felt especially hard in the SME (small medium enterprise) sector.  The issue there seems to be a long-standing problem of a lack of credit for these relatively smaller companies, which has paralyzed the economic turnaround for this nation.  Many of these small businesses will turn to money loans or other alternatives for funding.

With mindful attention on profits, these businesses will do everything they can to improve sustainability from looking a supply chain management to cutting costs in utilities.  A spokesperson from Make It Cheaper, a company that offers advice to small businesses on how to save money, explained why cost-cutting is a path many SMEs take during these turbulent economic times:

“The latest survey from the CBI proves that small businesses are finding it tough, not least because of a lack of investment and trust in the banking sector. Saving money has become hugely important to hard-pressed companies, and they’re left to look at how much they spend on energy. As many manufacturing firms need to use energy at all times, they may face having to spend over-the-odds on gas and electricity. This is where switching suppliers could come in, as that could help to save them hundreds or perhaps thousands each year.”

Positive Economic Turnaround News:

As of recently, Business Secretary Vince Cable announced that the U.K. government is investing £1 billion ($1.62 billion) to initialize a business bank that it hopes will eventually support up to £10 billion in lending for small and medium-size companies.  The intention behind this lending is to give these businesses the capital they need to make the necessary investments, hire more employees, and boost their economy.

The British CBI welcomed the funding for the new bank creation declaring it would allow new and growing companies to get access to the means for capital in the same way that similar sized companies do in Germany, South Korea, and the United States.

Readers – What is the economic turnaround like for you in your neck of the woods?  Do jobs seem to be improving, or are you still slowing coming along?

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Image Credit: Microsoft Clip Art