Woodworking jobs forcast.

[Rick Potter]

There have been several threads on viability of woodworking jobs, and it is obvious that everyone is different, but todays MSN headline board has a blurb on the ten worst jobs for the future. Here is the forecast from the Kiplinger Report. Two of the jobs in the bottom ten were Woodworking Machine Operator, and Cabinet Maker. Also included were Tile Setter, and Drywall Installer.


Woodworking Machine Operator: Number of jobs 70,207. Growth from 2004 to 2014.....minus 32%. Projected growth from 2014 to 2024.....+3%. Current median salary $27,337.


Cabinet Maker: Number of jobs 100,745. Growth from 2004 to 2014.....minus 29.4%. Projected growth from 2014 to 2024....minus 3.6%. Current median salary $30,846.

They mentioned under Cabinet Maker that carpenters make a median salary of $36,000, suggesting that as a possible alternate position.


Sorry to be the messenger, but I thought folks might like to see the type of numbers the large companies look at.

[Phil Thien]

Sounds like an interesting article you've sited. It doesn't seem like they (the authors) are expecting the housing sector to come back strong anytime soon.

The news a week or three ago said Ashley Furniture was looking for a buyer. Someone commented (on the news) that they think the founder may be ready to get out and wants to monetize.

It does seem like RTA cabinets are going to put a hurt on custom cabinet shops that have historically cranked-out kitchens and office cabinets.

[Larry Edgerton]

I could have told them that..........

All I have to do is look at the bottom line in my checkbook.

[Ryan Mooney]

This is interesting/concerning for the craft as a whole. A lot of the furniture maker folks I've talked to say things like "yes I love making furniture but cabinets are what put the bread on the table" (do what pays to afford what you love sort of thing). Will those folks still be able to sustain going forward if things are this bleak? I hope that there is a light out there somewhere.

[Rich Enders]

My experience with quoting Kiplinger has been less than stellar. The Kiplinger Report was required reading during a 15 year career with one employer. However their prognostications were as often wrong as right. But they lay them out there so convincingly; Almost as if they can see the future. They lost me when in 1967 they predicted peace in the Middle East, and within a week "The Six Day War"........

[Erik Loza]

Guys, it's important to distinguish between the trades of furniture making and cabinet making. Both woodworking but both totally different markets. In my expereince, you can only really get metrics like this about the cabinet industry.

I'll have a pretty good feel for how things look once the Vegas show starts next week. That or IWF have always been a good finger on the pulse. From my sales during the first two quarters of 2015, it definitely seems like the cabinet industry here in th US is on the upswing. How that translates into jobs, I could not say, but shops are buying machinery and we're definitely out of the recession.

Erik

[Gerry Grzadzinski]

I think that there's also a big difference in residential cabinetry and commercial cabinetry. The commercial side of the business is very busy, and pays much better than the numbers in the original post.

[John T Barker]

Guys, it's important to distinguish between the trades of furniture making and cabinet making. Both woodworking but both totally different markets. In my expereince, you can only really get metrics like this about the cabinet industry.

I'll have a pretty good feel for how things look once the Vegas show starts next week. That or IWF have always been a good finger on the pulse. From my sales during the first two quarters of 2015, it definitely seems like the cabinet industry here in th US is on the upswing. How that translates into jobs, I could not say, but shops are buying machinery and we're definitely out of the recession.

Erik

Agreed. Very general terms are used that are misleading. It would take some research that not many want to do to give us data on ech aspect of woodworking. I work in a retail furniture store and one of our local vendors is a shop that makes a bit of everything, kitchens, entertainment centers, furniture, etc. They are going strong, built and moved in to a bigger shop, hired new people. Seems a good sign to me.