The Evolving Chemical Workforce

MANY SIGNS ARE POINTING TO AN economic recovery in the U.S.—the Wall Street Journal called those signs "a barrage of sunny economic data." They include the biggest jump in durable goods orders in 15 months, the fewest weekly jobless claims in three years, almost rosy consumer confidence, and the highest productivity levels in business in two decades. Yet, many C&EN readers are feeling anything but sunny these days. Some of those readers are unemployed, and understandably concerned. Others are employed, but they're worried about the long-term health of the chemical, pharmaceutical, and allied industries. Their concern is understandable. They read about the loss of manufacturing jobs and are told by some economists that those jobs will never return to the U.S. They read that R&D services are moving at a stunning rate to China and India. They read about continuing layoffs. They read that the job market for chemists sale of Invista, DuPont will be a smaller, more focused company. ...