Ed note: This was originally published on Open for Business, the official blog of the SBA
Made in America is hot. More than 400,000 manufacturing jobs have been created since the start of 2010 and there are currently about 229,000 job openings in the manufacturing sector, according to data from the Labor Department.
America’s small manufacturers are a critical part of that. According to BLS and Census data, 98 percent of America’s manufacturing firms are small. More than one in three Americans who work in manufacturing, work at a small business.
Everyone from the President on down has been working very hard to make sure these firms have the tools they need to grow and create jobs.
For example, in 2010, President Obama signed into law the Small Business Jobs Act. One of the most important provisions was increasing the limit on SBA loans from $2 million to $5 million. The higher loan limits directly helped nearly 2,500 small businesses – including nearly 450 small manufacturers – with access to over $10.2 billion to help buy new buildings, buy more equipment, and hire more workers.
We’re building on that momentum by taking even more steps to help small manufacturers.
Fonte: White House