Manufacturing in the United States

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Manufacturing output in the United States is at an all-time high as of 2023, but employment in the sector has been stagnant following a lengthy decline in the late 20th century.

Manufacturing is a vital economic sector in the United States of America.[1] The United States is the world's second-largest manufacturer after the People's Republic of China with a record high real output in 2021 of $2.5 trillion.[2]

As of December 2016, the U.S. manufacturing industry employed 12.35 million people. A year later, in December 2017, U.S. manufacturing employment grew by 207,000, or 1.7%, employees.[3] Though still a large part of the US economy, in Q1 2018 manufacturing contributed less to GDP than the 'Finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing' sector, the 'Government' sector, or 'Professional and business services' sector.[3]

Manufacturing output recovered from the Great Recession, reaching an all-time high in 2021, but manufacturing employment has been declining since the 1990s, giving rise to what is known as a "jobless recovery," which made job creation or preservation in the manufacturing sector an important topic in the 2016 United States presidential election.[4]

  1. ^ "The State of Manufacturing in the United States". International Trade Administration. July 2010. Archived from the original on February 26, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  2. ^ The World Bank Group. "Manufacturing, value added (current US$)". Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference FRED_EmpStat was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Economist_Mfg1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).