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March 2007 — Vol. 85, No. 2

U.S. manufacturing’s impact

 

A National Association of Manufacturers publication, “The Facts About Modern Manufacturing,” shows the industry’s importance to the country’s economy. Here are some highlights:

  • Every dollar in final sales of manufactured products supports $1.37 in other sectors of the economy.

  • More than one in six private-sector jobs in the United States depends on the U.S. manufacturing base.

  • In 2004, manufacturing employees earned an average of nearly $65,000 a year in wages and benefits, while employees in the remainder of the economy earned about $53,000.

  • If U.S. manufacturing were a country, it would be the eighth-largest economy in the world.

  • More goods are made in the United States today than at any time in U.S. history — close to $1.5 trillion dollars in gross domestic product in 2005.

  • Manufacturing accounted for 15% of economic growth — real GDP adjusted for inflation — between 2001 and 2005. Manufacturing contributed more to growth than any other single sector.

  • From 2001 to 2005, manufacturing GDP growth averaged 4% a year, compared with 3.5% growth for the overall economy.

  • Manufacturing productivity consistently outpaces productivity growth in other sectors. Between 1987 and 2005, manufacturing productivity grew by 94%, roughly two and a half times faster than the 38% increase in productivity in the rest of the business sector.

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