Ken Voytek

Ken Voytek is the principal with Mountain View Economics, which provides consulting services on economic and workforce development, industry analyses, program evaluation, and economic research projects for economic development organizations, research organizations, and other nonprofit and university-based organizations. Before retiring, Mr. Voytek was the Program Evaluation and Economic Research Group manager and the Chief Economist with the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Wed, 06/29/2016 - 16:41
Manufacturing Productivity: Working Harder, Smarter, and Showing UpFrom 2012 to 2022, manufacturing productivity declined by 3.8%
Tue, 06/27/2023 - 12:03
It’s time for U.S. manufacturers to focus on productivity or they will lose their long-term advantage. Productivity is fundamentally about increasing output rather than decreasing costs and inputs while output remains static. We faced this challenge…
Where Manufacturing Is Growing (and Where It Is Not)A look at the change in real manufacturing gross domestic product (GDP)
Thu, 12/10/2020 - 12:02
During the past few years, I have written more than a few blogs and papers looking at manufacturing productivity across the 50 states. I wanted to update some of these analyses to reflect more recent data, see what they tell us, and examine how…
Managing ProductivityProductivity will be even more critical as we recover from the current health and economic crisis
Wed, 07/08/2020 - 12:03
I’ve made it my personal crusade to keep a focus on the fundamental importance of productivity to manufacturers, to the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and to the MEP…
The Manufacturing Landscape: Looking Forward, Looking BackData indicate cautious optimism for manufacturers
Tue, 02/25/2020 - 12:02
I find that every so often it is good to step back and think about the current state of manufacturing in the broadest sense. We all see bits and pieces as part of our daily work with manufacturers across the country and from reading the news, but…
The Importance of ProductivityProductivity is the critical link between how we work and how we live
Mon, 11/25/2019 - 12:02
Productivity matters. It matters a lot. Yet it often seems that folks talk about productivity but don’t do anything about it. At least, it feels that way to me when I go outside of the MEP National Network, where we’re always focused on enhancing…
Thinking About Manufacturing and Its FutureThe MEP National Network Strategic Plan is championing manufacturing
Tue, 12/11/2018 - 12:01
Manufacturers throughout the United States are facing a new set of challenges and exciting growth opportunities. Given the manufacturing industry’s important role in providing both direct and indirect jobs, how firms react to these changing…
Tales of a Kitchen Remodel Sourced in the United StatesIt may require some digging around and being purposeful, but it can be done
Wed, 05/30/2018 - 12:01
Without manufacturing, the room where you make dinner would be rather stark and barren. There’d be no pots, no pans, no stoves, no spatulas, no appliances—big or small. There’d be no way to prepare the meals that give you and your family sustenance…
Puzzling Over PerformanceWhy are some companies more productive than others?
Wed, 06/29/2016 - 16:41
In a recent post, I examined the differences in productivity across small and large manufacturing firms, and noted that there were differences across manufacturers in terms of size. But it’s also clear from the literature that productivity differs…