Despite a slight monthly dip in May 2024, the US manufacturing sector is staging a powerful, job-creating comeback, fueled by record-breaking reshoring announcements and substantial wage growth that continues to outpace the broader private sector.
Key Takeaways
- In May 2024, total nonfarm payroll employment in manufacturing stood at 12,954,000 jobs, reflecting a slight decline of 8,000 from April
- Manufacturing employment increased by 193,000 jobs over the 12 months ending May 2024, averaging about 16,000 jobs per month
- Durable goods manufacturing employed 8,027,000 workers in May 2024, up 137,000 from a year earlier
- Average hourly earnings in manufacturing were $32.15 in May 2024, up 3.9% over the year
- Production and nonsupervisory manufacturing workers earned $27.81 per hour in May 2024
- Annual mean wage for manufacturing occupations was $62,530 in 2023
- In May 2024, the largest manufacturing subsector by employment was food manufacturing with 1,704,000 jobs
- Transportation equipment manufacturing employed 1,729,000 workers in May 2024
- Fabricated metal product manufacturing had 1,461,200 jobs in 2022 annual average
- California had 1,315,000 manufacturing jobs in 2022, largest state total
- Texas manufacturing employment 940,000 in 2022, second highest
- Ohio 717,000 manufacturing jobs in 2022
- US manufacturing contributed $2.9 trillion to GDP in 2022, 11% of total
- Manufacturing supports $2.1 trillion in indirect economic activity annually
- Every $1 spent in manufacturing generates $2.64 in additional activity
While manufacturing jobs grew steadily last year, the sector is expected to face slower future growth.
Economic Impact and Projections
- US manufacturing contributed $2.9 trillion to GDP in 2022, 11% of total
- Manufacturing supports $2.1 trillion in indirect economic activity annually
- Every $1 spent in manufacturing generates $2.64 in additional activity
- Manufacturing exports totaled $1.5 trillion in 2022, 52% of merchandise exports
- Projected manufacturing employment to 2032: 12.8 million, little change from 2022
- BLS projects 54,000 new manufacturing jobs from 2022-2032, growth rate 0.4%
- Durable goods projected to decline by 1% to 2032 due to productivity
- Nondurable goods manufacturing projected up 2.3% to 2032
- Reshoring announced 1.9 million jobs from 2010-2023, impacting GDP growth
- CHIPS Act expected to create 280,000 direct semiconductor jobs by 2030
- Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to support 1.5 million manufacturing jobs over 10 years
- Inflation Reduction Act projected 900,000 clean energy manufacturing jobs by 2030
- Manufacturing productivity grew 2.5% annually 1987-2022
- In 2022, manufacturing paid $1.2 trillion in wages
- Manufacturing R&D investment $300 billion annually, 50% of private sector total
- 72% of US manufacturing output exported or used in exports 2022
- Manufacturing capital investment $220 billion in 2022
- Projected output growth for manufacturing 0.1% annually to 2032
- Automation expected to displace 2 million manufacturing jobs but create 4 million by 2025
- 2023 manufacturing output index at 102.5 (2017=100)
- Capacity utilization in manufacturing 77.8% in May 2024
Economic Impact and Projections Interpretation
The US manufacturing sector is a massive, $2.9 trillion economic engine that, despite appearing to run in place with flat employment, is actually supercharging its productivity and pivoting toward a future of semiconductors and clean energy, proving that its real output isn't just in things, but in the waves of economic activity, high wages, and innovation it creates.
Employment Levels and Trends
- In May 2024, total nonfarm payroll employment in manufacturing stood at 12,954,000 jobs, reflecting a slight decline of 8,000 from April
- Manufacturing employment increased by 193,000 jobs over the 12 months ending May 2024, averaging about 16,000 jobs per month
- Durable goods manufacturing employed 8,027,000 workers in May 2024, up 137,000 from a year earlier
- Nondurable goods manufacturing had 4,927,000 jobs in May 2024, up 56,000 over the year
- From 2021 to 2022, US manufacturing jobs grew by 293,000, reaching 12.9 million by end of 2022
- Manufacturing accounted for 8.2% of total US nonfarm employment in 2022
- Between 2010 and 2022, US manufacturing added 1.1 million jobs
- In 2023, manufacturing employment reached 13 million, the highest since 2008
- Post-pandemic recovery saw manufacturing jobs rebound by 800,000 from the 2020 low by mid-2022
- Projected manufacturing employment growth from 2022-2032 is 0.2% annually, slower than all occupations at 3%
- From March 2020 to March 2024, manufacturing lost 1.4 million jobs during COVID but recovered 760,000 by 2024
- In Q1 2024, manufacturing jobs announced totaled 102,000 new positions across 456 projects
- Cumulative reshoring and FDI job announcements since 2010 reached 2,473,533 by end of 2023
- 2023 saw 360,900 new manufacturing jobs announced via reshoring, a record high
- Computer and electronics manufacturing announced 92,700 jobs in 2023, leading reshoring sectors
- Transportation equipment sector announced 88,900 reshoring jobs in 2023
- As of 2022, US manufacturing supported 17.2 million jobs including indirect employment
- Manufacturing jobs grew 4.8% from pre-pandemic levels by December 2023
- Midwest region added 94,000 manufacturing jobs since pandemic lows by 2023
- South region manufacturing employment up 142,000 since pandemic
- West region gained 42,000 manufacturing jobs post-pandemic by 2023
- Northeast manufacturing jobs increased by 25,000 since pandemic lows
- In 2021, manufacturing employment was 12.55 million, up from 11.45 million in 2010
- Annual average manufacturing employment in 2022 was 12,965,000 per BLS CES data
- Fabricated metal product manufacturing employed 1,461,000 in 2022
- Food manufacturing jobs totaled 1,704,000 in May 2024
- Chemical manufacturing employed 887,000 in May 2024
- Machinery manufacturing had 1,128,000 jobs in May 2024
- Primary metal manufacturing employed 369,000 in May 2024
- From 1979 to 2023, US manufacturing employment declined from 19.5 million to 13 million
Employment Levels and Trends Interpretation
The sector has emerged from the pandemic's punch with a record-setting reshoring jab and a healthy annual job gain, but its long-term fight against decline continues with the patient stamina of a journeyman welder building a future one careful bead at a time.
Geographic Distribution
- California had 1,315,000 manufacturing jobs in 2022, largest state total
- Texas manufacturing employment 940,000 in 2022, second highest
- Ohio 717,000 manufacturing jobs in 2022
- Pennsylvania 579,000 manufacturing jobs in 2022
- Illinois 598,000 manufacturing jobs in 2022
- Michigan 603,000 manufacturing jobs in 2022
- New York 463,000 manufacturing jobs in 2022
- Indiana 512,000 manufacturing jobs in 2022
- North Carolina 474,000 manufacturing jobs in 2022
- Wisconsin 496,000 manufacturing jobs in 2022
- In May 2024, California manufacturing employment 1,320,400 seasonally adjusted
- Texas 898,900 manufacturing jobs in May 2024 SA
- Ohio 678,200 in May 2024
- Manufacturing output per Midwest state highest in region 2022
- South region 30.1% of US manufacturing jobs in 2022
- Midwest 22.4% of national manufacturing employment 2022
- West 13.1% manufacturing jobs share in 2022
- Northeast 16.5% of US manufacturing jobs 2022
- Georgia 406,000 manufacturing jobs in 2022
- Washington state 281,000 manufacturing jobs 2022
- Alabama 262,000 manufacturing jobs 2022
- Tennessee 389,000 manufacturing jobs 2022
- Kentucky 256,000 manufacturing jobs 2022
- Florida 412,000 manufacturing jobs 2022
- Minnesota 327,000 manufacturing jobs 2022
- Missouri 277,000 manufacturing jobs 2022
- South Carolina 267,000 manufacturing jobs 2022
Geographic Distribution Interpretation
While California continues to lead the industrial charge with over 1.3 million factory jobs, the real story is a shifting landscape where Texas and the broader Sunbelt are gaining ground, proving that manufacturing might is no longer solely a Rust Belt monologue but a nationwide, and fiercely competitive, conversation.
Occupational Breakdown
- In May 2024, the largest manufacturing subsector by employment was food manufacturing with 1,704,000 jobs
- Transportation equipment manufacturing employed 1,729,000 workers in May 2024
- Fabricated metal product manufacturing had 1,461,200 jobs in 2022 annual average
- Machinery manufacturing employed 1,128,000 in May 2024
- Plastics and rubber products manufacturing had 533,000 jobs in May 2024
- Electrical equipment and appliances employed 391,000 in May 2024
- In 2023, assemblers and fabricators numbered 1,824,310 in manufacturing occupations
- Metal workers and plastic workers totaled 1,112,780 in 2023 manufacturing
- Production occupations in manufacturing overall 3,967,840 in 2023
- Supervisors of production workers 680,000 in manufacturing 2023
- Printing workers 402,000 in manufacturing 2023
- Textile, apparel, footwear workers 220,000 in 2023
- Food processing workers 621,000 in manufacturing 2023
- Woodworkers 226,000 in manufacturing 2023
- Plant and system operators 148,000 in manufacturing 2023
- Computer-controlled machine tool operators 142,000 in 2023 manufacturing
- In 2022, chemical manufacturing subsector employed 887,000
- Primary metals subsector 369,000 jobs in May 2024
- Beverages and tobacco 274,000 jobs in May 2024
- Apparel manufacturing 96,000 jobs in May 2024, smallest major subsector
- Motor vehicles and parts 985,000 jobs in May 2024
- Aerospace products and parts 526,000 in May 2024
- Navigational instruments 75,000 jobs in May 2024
- Medical equipment and supplies 368,000 in May 2024
- In 2023, 62% of manufacturing workers were in production occupations
Occupational Breakdown Interpretation
Despite our tech-savvy reputation, America's industrial backbone is still held together by a formidable army of hands, from the 1.7 million feeding us to the half-million building things that fly, proving that the future of making stuff is as much about nuts, bolts, and bread as it is about bits and bytes.
Wages and Earnings
- Average hourly earnings in manufacturing were $32.15 in May 2024, up 3.9% over the year
- Production and nonsupervisory manufacturing workers earned $27.81 per hour in May 2024
- Annual mean wage for manufacturing occupations was $62,530 in 2023
- Team assemblers in manufacturing earned median $38,260 annually in 2023
- Industrial machinery mechanics median wage $60,470 in 2023
- Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers median $48,000 in manufacturing 2023
- Manufacturing average weekly earnings reached $1,340.96 in Q4 2023, 10% above national average
- In 2022, manufacturing workers earned 13.4% more than private sector average hourly wage
- Benefits in manufacturing cover 81% of workers vs 71% in private industry 2022
- Manufacturing production workers had $1.07 per hour more in overtime pay premium in 2022
- Median annual wage for all production occupations in manufacturing $41,490 in 2023
- Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, weighers median $43,140 in manufacturing 2023
- Cutting, punching, pressing workers median $43,450 in 2023
- Machinists median annual wage $49,510 in manufacturing 2023
- Electrical, electronics assemblers median $38,210 in 2023
- In California, manufacturing average wage $72,000 in 2022, highest state
- Texas manufacturing workers averaged $62,000 wage in 2022
- Ohio manufacturing average wage $65,000 in 2022
- From 2021-2022, manufacturing wages rose 6.5% nominally, outpacing inflation
- Shift differential pay in manufacturing averaged $1.15 per hour in 2022
- Manufacturing incentive pay averaged $1.50 per hour for production workers 2022
- Nonproduction bonuses in manufacturing averaged $1,112 annually in 2022
- 87% of manufacturing workers had employer-provided medical coverage in 2022
- In 2023, food manufacturing average hourly wage $28.50
- Chemical manufacturing mean hourly wage $42.10 in 2023
- Computer and electronic products mean wage $44,500 annually in 2023
Wages and Earnings Interpretation
American factory workers are finally getting a seat at the table with better pay, benefits, and overtime, proving that making things still makes for a solid, if not spectacular, middle-class life.