Auto Industry Takes The Lead In March Job Creation

DETROIT -- (WWJ) While the U.S. economy didn't add as many jobs last month as analysts were expecting, one area seems to be outperforming the expectations.

One out of every ten new jobs added in March was in the auto industry.

"There's no doubt that the automotive industry is very robust," said Michael Robinet, managing partner of the I.H.S. Automotive Consulting.

All totaled, 120 thousand jobs were added in March, lower than the 200 thousand that were expected. The jobless rate dropped from 8.3 to 8.2 percent.

But as car sales rise, car companies and their suppliers have been gearing up.

"It's really a combination of manufacturing jobs, research and development jobs, as well as, interestingly enough, more sales capacity as well," said Robinet. "The industry coming back is really a bellwether for where this industry is going to move in the next couple of years."

The entry level "second tier" wage has allowed car companies to add more manufacturing jobs. Many suppliers that made big work force cuts to withstand the recession are now finding they need to add workers to meet demand.

Many auto plants, including Detroit-Hamtramk and Jefferson North, are gearing up to add third shifts.

"By the end of this year, almost forty percent of all vehicles built in the United States will be built on a three crew format," said Robinet.

Earlier this week Toyota announced that it would be adding engineers at its technical centers near Ann Arbor.

The hiring pace should continue as car and truck companies have been increasing their sales forecasts for 2012. The analyst consensus now seems to be that the industry will sell more than 14.5 million vehicles this year.