The National Summit

With NEI's President & CEO Marv Fertel set to address the Detroit Economic Club at next week's National Summit, this New York Times article, Michigan Tries to Renew Itself Without King Auto, caught our eye today.

For all the talk of California’s economic woes, the distress in Michigan is greater. About 800,000 jobs have been lost in the state — about 1 in every 6 — since 2000, and its unemployment rate has reached 12.7 percent, higher than any other state.

The fallout has been even worse in heavily populated southeastern Michigan. Manufacturing jobs in the seven-county region that includes Detroit have fallen 51 percent since the beginning of the decade, and auto-related positions have fallen 65 percent.

Hmmm...wondering what type of industry would be looking to hire highly skilled workers who are familiar with steel, welding and parts assembly.