Chart of the Day: Manufacturing Employment Edition

From Bloomberg:

While the number of manufacturing jobs is up from the low set during the Great Recession, the total is still lower than any other time since 1950.  Unfortunately, I believe it will plumb new lows in the next recession, and will almost certainly never get back to pre-2008 levels.  A few of the reasons for that are that manufacturing is hard, it is extremely capital-intensive, and new technology is eliminating the need for some employees.  It is a lot easier to make money in advertising or mergers and acquisitions or technology.