Skilled trades are one of the most popular job sectors on the continent, especially for men, so the chances are good that if you're a man moving to Pittsburgh you'll be looking for a job operating machinery or fashioning polyester slings in a factory. This guide gives an overview of the manufacturing and production industries in Pittsburgh, their history and future prospects, some top employers in those areas, and most importantly: an estimation of your chances of finding gainful employment.
If you've been doing your research on Pittsburgh, you'll have noticed that in many places it is referred to as "The Steel City" and that its major league football team is called the "Steelers." This may lead you to believe that Pittsburgh's primary industry is steel production, and that the city will have many job openings for a person experienced in the used of power distribution blocks. This is not, however, the case, since Pittsburgh's steel industry collapsed in the 1980s.
Much of the region's manufacturing also relocated or went bust in this period, and since then the focus of the economy has shifted to health care, education, and high technology. These trends will likely continue, with Pittsburgh being known less and less as a producer of suction diffusers and more as a robotics and biomedical research giant. Research rather than production will continue to be the order of the day because of high corporate taxes.
This is not to say manufacturing is dead in Pittsburgh. About 12 percent of the workforce was still employed in that sector in 2005 and the unemployment rate as of 2009 was 6.8%, lower than the Pennsylvania state average. Items produced in Pittsburgh factories include metal and metal products, plastics such as heat shrink sleeves, glass, machinery, electronics, food, medical equipment, robotics, and software.
Those who are heading out to find a job are advised that it is not necessary to resort to posting your qualifications on the sides of buildings in vinyl wall letters, there are enough jobs floating around that you can get by with just a resume and good references. Though not ranked among the city's top employers, several manufacturing based Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies are still doing well. They include U.S. Steel, PPG Industries (which makes paint and other chemical products), Allegheny Technologies (a steel manufacturer) Mylan Laboratories (pharmaceutical products) CONSOL Energies (a coal company) and Kennametal (a tool producer).
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