To judge from the job listings, welders are in high demand.
Manufacturers across the Upper Midwest will tell anyone who listens that they have jobs to offer -- 2,580 welding positions in Minnesota alone -- but not enough solid applicants. They point to a "skills gap" between the jobs available and the people out looking for work.
Textbook economics says this should be good news for anyone who can strap on a helmet and make the sparks fly. If good welders truly are hard to find, employers should pay more to get them on board.
Yet that isn't happening, leading some economists to question whether the skills gap is really the issue.
"If there is a shortage of something, you would expect the price of that something to increase over time," said Steve Hine, director of labor market information for the state of Minnesota. "It doesn't matter if that's skilled welders, or the market for beer."
Instead, the average hourly wage for a welder in Minnesota grew just $1 between 2005 and 2011, to $17 per hour, according to Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development data. Take inflation into account, and that's a pay cut.
And welders in Minnesota make more, on average, than they do in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa, all states where firms complain about a skills gap. Average inflation-adjusted pay for machinists has risen only 9 cents per hour in the past seven years in Minnesota. Hourly wages for factory assemblers and fabricators have risen just 10 cents, and pay for computer-controlled machine operators has fallen $1.61 per hour.
Still, many employers say the skills gap is real and is holding back the economic recovery. While Minnesota manufacturers have added 11,600 jobs since the beginning of February, the people who run these companies say hiring is a struggle.