--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Labor-rich manufacturing doesn't exist…" description: "\"Labor-rich manufacturing doesn't exist anymore. Manufacturing jobs are white-collar, Silicon Valley programmers or highly-skilled technicians. They are..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ac/david-brooks-644_collars_labor-rich-manufacturing-doesn-t-exist-a_665659.png" --- # Labor-rich manufacturing doesn't exist anymore… ![“Labor-rich manufacturing doesn't exist anymore. Manufacturing jobs are white-collar, Silicon Valley programmers or highly-skilled technicians. They are not going to employ lots of people.” quote by David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ac/david-brooks-644_collars_labor-rich-manufacturing-doesn-t-exist-a_665659.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ac/david-brooks-644_collars_labor-rich-manufacturing-doesn-t-exist-a_665659.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ac/david-brooks-644_collars_labor-rich-manufacturing-doesn-t-exist-a_665659.png) > “Labor-rich manufacturing doesn't exist anymore. Manufacturing jobs are white-collar, Silicon Valley programmers or highly-skilled technicians. They are not going to employ lots of people.” [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Manufacturing has shifted toward highly skilled, knowledge‑based work, reducing low‑skill labor opportunities. **In simple terms:** Modern manufacturing needs skilled workers, not many low‑skill jobs. Key Takeaway Adapt education to tech‑driven manufacturing. Themes economy technology labor market Mood analytical concerned Type economic policy When to use this quote - job training programs - education reform - industry partnerships Key Concepts skill mismatch automation economic policy Questions to Reflect On - How can societies retrain displaced workers? - What policies protect low‑skill labor? A Different Perspective Transition may widen income inequality without support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Collars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collars/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labor/) [Labor Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labor-rich-2363365/) [Manufacturing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manufacturing/) [Manufacturing Doesn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manufacturing-doesn-4879707/) [Manufacturing Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manufacturing-jobs-246422/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Programmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programmers/) [Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich/) [Rich Manufacturing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich-manufacturing-5295740/) [Silicon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silicon/) [Silicon valley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silicon-valley/) [Technicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technicians/) [Valleys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/valleys/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) [White collar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-collar/) ## Related quotes > [Manufacturing doesn't just mean building cars and metal-bashing; it includes making pharmaceuticals and hi-tech electronics. 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That's why the rich pay such a low…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-b-stewart/the-appreciation-of-capital-assets-is-already-taxed-at-an-extremely/) [James B. Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-b-stewart/) > [Ive put forward a plan to make sure that were bringing manufacturing jobs back to our shores.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/ive-put-forward-a-plan-to-make-sure-that-were-bringing-manufacturing/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [If manufacturing jobs do come back to the U.S., they will be done by robots in hi-tech parts of the country rather than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stiglitz/if-manufacturing-jobs-do-come-back-to-the-u-s-they-will-be-done-by/) [Joseph Stiglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stiglitz/) > [I want to bring more manufacturing jobs to America. 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Hoffa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-hoffa/) > [I am going to bring back infrastructure jobs, advanced manufacturing jobs, clean renewable energy jobs, innovation, technology, small business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-am-going-to-bring-back-infrastructure-jobs-advanced-manufacturing/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [You lose manufacturing jobs, you rarely ever get them back again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graydon-carter/you-lose-manufacturing-jobs-you-rarely-ever-get-them-back-again/) [Graydon Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graydon-carter/) > [I want people to see the fact that we've lost millions of manufacturing jobs to outsourcing and globalization. Sometimes images can convey that better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seph-lawless/i-want-people-to-see-the-fact-that-we-ve-lost-millions-of/) [Seph Lawless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seph-lawless/) > [There were a lot of manufacturing jobs lost over a long period of time and particularly after - during the Great Recession. We've had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-yellen/there-were-a-lot-of-manufacturing-jobs-lost-over-a-long-period-of/) [Janet Yellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-yellen/) > [“While Millions of jobs have been created in retail sales to move the mountains of imports, the manufacturing jobs that enabled Americans with high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-befumo/while-millions-of-jobs-have-been-created-in-retail-sales-to-move-the/) [Joseph Befumo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-befumo/) ## More by David Brooks > [The brain is not the mind. 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I think free trade has been wonderful for America on balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/trade-has-suddenly-become-massively-unpopular-i-think-that-s/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [Politics is based on social identity, and so, again, there is going to be differences between rural and urban and between left and right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/politics-is-based-on-social-identity-and-so-again-there-is-going-to/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [Pain now is better than pain deferred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/pain-now-is-better-than-pain-deferred/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [It’s worth noting that you can devote your life to community service and be a total schmuck. You can spend your life on Wall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/it-s-worth-noting-that-you-can-devote-your-life-to-community-service/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [If it feels all right for you, it's probably OK.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/if-it-feels-all-right-for-you-it-s-probably-ok/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [I do think Donald Trump is a fundamentally unstabilizing force and that the people who swore to uphold the Constitution are going to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/i-do-think-donald-trump-is-a-fundamentally-unstabilizing-force-and/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [Tim Kaine has been obviously a governor. He's been a senator. He's one of the smartest rising stars in the Democratic Party. 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