Manufacturing Industry Snapshot

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics:

The manufacturing sector consists of establishments engaged in the mechanical, physical or chemical transformation of materials, substances or components into new products.

In the economy as a whole, manufacturing represents almost 12 percent of all employment, yet less than 5 percent of all establishments.

Current Employment Statistics estimates show annual average employment in manufacturing above 17 million between 1994 and 2000, before declining sharply. During 2003, manufacturing employment averaged 14,525,000.

Employment of production workers in manufacturing followed a similar pattern over the same period, with numbers above 12 million until a decline beginning in 2001. In 2003, production workers in manufacturing averaged 10,200,000.

The average weekly hours of production workers in manufacturing were 40.4 in 2003, well above the private industry average of 33.7 for production and non-supervisory workers.

Average hourly earnings of production workers in manufacturing were $15.74 in 2003, slightly higher than the average of $15.35 for production and non-supervisory workers in all private industry.

Employment Projections data indicate that manufacturing employment will decrease 1.0 percent over the 2002-12 period. Total employment for all industry sectors is projected to increase 14.8 percent.

Labor productivity—defined as output per hour—grew by 5.1 percent in manufacturing from 2002 to 2003, according to data from the Productivity and Costs program.