In the past several months Greenville has seen a rise in manufacturing jobs. Companies ranging from BMW, Michelin, General Electric Co., and now Sage Automotive Interiors, are hiring and business is picking back up. As we have seen recently, many large companies in the Upstate are hiring and kicking up production. Manufacturing orders rose 2.1% across the nation, making it the biggest increase in productivity since January. This resulted in $8.8 million in manufacturing activity for the month of September. Key factors to the recent rise in the index are the auto, computer and export sectors.

Sage Automotive Interiors manufactures door panels, seating, and headliners for cars. During the recession, Sage Automotive, based in Marietta, South Carolina, cut back on hours of the skilled employees. However, by cutting hours and not employees many workers were able to keep their benefits and income. Currently, Sage Automotives is hiring, but according to the president and chief executive, Dirk Peiper, there is a gap between the skills the company needs and the employee skills available in the area. While it can be easy to fill the entry level jobs, it’s the technical jobs that require a higher skill set, thus making it harder to fill the position

U.S. manufacturing activity has expanded for 15 consecutive months, but momentum has been slowing since April. According to a recent article in The Greenville News, manufacturing jobs rose 1.3% from where they were just 12 months ago. Statistics from the October ISM Index gave a productivity rating of 56.9, a 6 point jump since September. The Institute for Supply Management releases a monthly index that tracks the amount of manufacturing activity from the previous month. An index below 50, typically a decrease in activity over an extended period of time, tends to indicate an economic recession. Likewise, a score above 50 indicates a time of economic growth.

This latest news seems to indicate the manufacturing industry is helping to plane out the unsteady economy.