Op-Ed: Misty Chally: Trump's manufacturing revival is laudable, but factories can’t run without workers

President Donald Trump’s laser-like focus on revitalizing American manufacturing is and should be applauded by the business community. Restoring America’s industrial strength is essential not only for economic growth but for national security, supply chain independence and job creation. But there’s an urgent reality we cannot afford to ignore: no matter how many factories built and jobs created, America cannot prosper without workers.

An August 2024 survey from the Cato Institute reveals a critical contradiction in public sentiment. While 80 percent of Americans agree the nation would benefit from more manufacturing jobs, only 25 percent believe they would personally be better off working in a factory. Incredibly, only 2 percent of Americans currently work in manufacturing, and interest among younger Americans is even lower — just 36 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds express any interest in such work. These numbers underscore a looming and dangerous gap between our ambitions and our reality.

The latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey finds that unfilled positions in U.S. manufacturing stand at 456,000 unfilled positions. That figure doesn’t even account for the broader labor shortages facing nearly every sector of the economy — from construction to retail to health care. As we set out to reindustrialize, the workforce challenge will only grow more acute.

One particularly troubling trend is the sharp decline in labor force participation among prime working-age men. As of January 2025, U.S. labor force participation among men has declined 18.7 percentage points from its high during World War II. Once the backbone of America’s industrial workforce, too many men are now sitting on the sidelines of the job market. Many are not actively seeking work at all — much less considering physically demanding factory jobs. If this trend continues, it will be nearly impossible to meet the labor needs of a resurgent manufacturing sector.

The truth is that restoring American manufacturing requires more than tariffs, incentives, and groundbreaking ceremonies. It requires people — skilled, motivated individuals ready to do the demanding but vital work of making things in America again. And unless we tackle the labor shortage head-on, the most well-intentioned efforts to bring back industry will falter.

While there is no silver bullet to the ongoing labor shortage, two immediate policy actions can help bridge the gap.

First, Congress must extend and modernize the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC). WOTC is a proven tool that encourages businesses to hire individuals from disadvantaged groups — including veterans, long-term unemployed workers, and recipients of public assistance — who often face significant barriers to employment. Enacted in 1996, WOTC has helped connect millions of Americans to good jobs, while helping businesses offset a portion of wage costs. Despite its success, WOTC is set to expire at the end of the year unless Congress acts.

Allowing this credit to lapse would be a major setback — not just for workers seeking opportunity, but for employers desperately in need of talent. The Improve and Enhance the Work Opportunity Tax Credit Act is a bipartisan bill that will expand and strengthen WOTC and help close the labor gap by making it more attractive for businesses to hire and train workers who might otherwise be overlooked.

Second, America must invest in workforce growth to better align with the labor market. Immigrants currently make up nearly 19 percent of the U.S. labor force, filling critical shortages across industries. Studies show that immigrant workers increase productivity, create jobs for native-born workers, and drive innovation. Yet outdated visa caps and work permit processing backlogs leave employers struggling to find the workers they need. A smarter immigration system would expand legal pathways for employment — including streamlining work authorization for asylum seekers and creating new non-immigrant visa programs for industries facing severe shortages, like manufacturing, construction, and hospitality. If the goal is to increase U.S. manufacturing, legal workforce expansion is an economic necessity.

Without targeted action to expand and strengthen the American workforce, even the best-laid plans to restore manufacturing will fall short. We cannot build a new era of American industrial leadership on an outdated workforce model. Factories cannot build themselves — and they certainly can’t run themselves. If we want to secure a future of American industrial leadership, we must start by investing in the most critical infrastructure of all: people.

Misty Chally is the CEO of Capitol Solutions, LLC, and the Executive Director of the Critical Labor Coalition, a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing the U.S. labor shortage