Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey: First Quarter 2022
Demand for manufactured goods remains strong despite a multitude of headwinds in the global
economy. The challenge for manufacturing firms has been in meeting that demand, with sizable hurdles
from supply chain disruptions, workforce shortages, soaring costs and COVID-19. The labor market
remains tight, with job growth in the sector in 2021 rising at the best pace since 1994. Companies cite
difficulties in finding sufficient workers to meet their capacity needs, despite experiencing wage growth
for production and nonsupervisory workers in manufacturing that has been at a 40-year high. At the
same time, manufacturers have had around 800,000 job openings or more—a very elevated rate—for
10 straight months.
The Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey for the first quarter of 2022 found 88.1% of respondents cited supply chain challenges as a primary business challenge in the first quarter, 85.7% cited increased raw material costs, and 79.0% cited the inability to attract and retain a quality workforce.