Factory orders skyrocketing; jobs still down
BY MARTIN CRUTSINGER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Big-ticket orders
to factories shot up almost 11 percent
last year, the best performance in a
decade and a promising sign for be
leaguered manufacturers who have
lost 2.9 million jobs since mid-2000.
But the rebound in orders, while
translating into higher profits for manu
facturing companies, was not spurring
much rehiring of laid-off workers. Busi
nesses are boosting production with
smaller work forces, analysts say.
The 10.9 percent rise in orders for
all of 2004 was helped by a 0.6 per
cent gain in December, which fol
lowed an even bigger 1.8 percent No
vember increase, as the year ended
on a strong note.
“Manufacturing came back later in
this expansion than it normally does.
But last year, it looks like it finally
came back,” said David Wyss, chief
economist at Standard & Poor's in
New York.
The annual increase in orders was
the biggest since an 11.8 percent jump
in 1994 in the midst of the booming
economy of the 1990s. In this decade,
manufacturing has fallen on hard
times, suffering a plunge of 10.6 per
cent in orders in the recession year of
2001 and a further 1.9 percent setback
in 2002. Orders rose a modest 3 per
cent in 2003, not enough to recoup the
losses of the previous two years.
The strong manufacturing gain
was not enough to bolster spirits on
Wall Street, where investors worried
about rising oil prices and the up
coming elections in Iraq. The Dow
Jones industrial average fell 31.19
points to close at 10,467.40.
In other economic news, the Labor
Department said 325,000 newly un
employed Americans filed claims for
jobless benefits last week, an in
crease of 7,000. Claims in the previ
ous week had fallen by the largest
amount in more than three years.
Analysts were encouraged by the
strong 2004 factory orders. It is this
part of the economy that is expected
to provide momentum for economic
growth this year.
“A continued resurgence in business
capital spending is critical for the man
ufacturing recovery in 2005,” said
David Huether, chief economist for the
National Association of Manufacturers.
But economists cautioned that the
rebound in orders probably will not
translate into a surge in hiring. Manu
facturing employment's most recent
peak occurred in July 2000. Since that
time, 2.9 million manufacturing jobs
— one in six — have disappeared as
U.S. companies have been battered by
FACTORIES, page 12
Tim Bobosky| Photographei
Gov. Ted
Kulongoski
invited about
20 Oregon
Student
Association
representatives
to a question
and-answer
session in his
office before the
Thursday rally.
Kulongoski: Governor's past gives him sympathy for low-income students
Continued from page 1
have been given the opportunity
by someone else to get where you’re
at,” Kulongoski said to the crowd.
“I believe that education is the great
equalizer in our society. This is
how people, regardless of race or
ethnicity or sexual orientation or
any other issue — if you give people
the opportunity to have an educa
tion, they can contribute to this
state and to our future and be an ac
tive partner in our society. This
is where opportunity starts, by
investing in education.”
Kulongoski spoke of his own
humble beginnings and the oppor
tunity granted to him by the GI Bill
to go to college.
“I grew up in an orphanage,”
Kulongoski said. He mentioned the
time he spent serving in the Marine
Corps, working in a steel mill and as
a bartender, where he met his wife,
who talked him into going to college.
“I had the opportunity, and I did
end up going to college and on to law
school on the GI Bill,” he said.
“Somebody gave me a chance. That’s
what this is all about. Giving you the
opportunity to have the same chance
that I had.”
“I am committed to this, not
for politics or for any other reason
other than it is best for Oregon,” the
governor added. “This state has a
very sad track record in investing in
post-secondary education, and it has
to change.”
Petkun, who helped lead the
event, was pleased that the
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governor was taking an interest in
higher education.
“I think anytime you have the
opportunity to talk to the governor
about the issues that are important
to you, you’re in a good place,” said
Petkun in an interview. “We’re just
so happy to have the governor’s
ear on our issues, and I think
he’s making the right decision by
making an investment.”
“The governor’s recognition of
this dilemma and his willingness to
work toward a solution make it pos
sible for many low-income students
who would be unable to obtain col
lege enrollment to do so,” LCC Stu
dent Body President and OSA Vice
Chairman Tony McCown said at the
rally. McCown is a recipient of the
Opportunity Grant.
McCown said in an interview that
it was difficult for him to get the Op
portunity Grant because he had been
working full time before going to
school, but didn’t want to do so
while attending college.
McCown’s wife, Theya, attends
the University.
“The fact that it’s 55 percent of
poverty level (to qualify for the
grant) means that a family of two
would have to make a maximum of
$10,000 per year in order to quali
fy,” he said. “Last year was really
hard on the two of us because we
had both decided to go back to
school full time, but we weren’t
receiving the grant money.”
Kulongoski emphasized the impor
tance of higher education on the
state’s future.
“We’re trying to provide people
with skills to compete in a global
economy,” Kulongoski said during
the question-and-answer session. “If
you see what China, India, Japan and
other countries are putting into post
secondary education, ... we’re going
to get left.”
“It is clear as to what’s going on in
the world. Our success as a state rests
upon us in this building giving you
the opportunity to build the future for
Oregon,” he said to the students at
the rally. “One of these days, if any
body tries to (take the grant money
away), you come back in force with
all your friends.
“If this building takes it away from
you, shame on all of us.”
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