NBC News (12/20/12) Michelle V. Rafter
Manufacturing picked up steam in the U.S. South with the opening of plants by U.S. and foreign companies in recent years, and in the new year, there are plans for companies to build new plants or expand existing ones in the region. Companies are drawn to the Southeast for its state and local business incentives, convenient transportation routes, lower cost of living, and nonunion and inexpensive labor force. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that factory jobs are nearing their prerecession levels, with manufacturing employment up 3% in Georgia and Tennessee, 2.9% in Alabama, 2.4% in South Carolina, and 2% in Mississippi during the year-over-year period ending in October, surpassing the average national growth rate of 1.6%.