Manufacturing jobs now exceed pre-pandemic levels

Average number of U.S. manufacturing jobs

Annually; 1980–2023

 

Manufacturing jobs are so back: Employment in the sector is now slightly above pre-pandemic levels.

Why it matters: It's the first time since the 1970s that the manufacturing industry has recovered all the jobs lost during a recession, per an analysis of government data out Tuesday from the Economic Innovation Group, a centrist think tank.

Where it stands: The recovery has been uneven and fairly concentrated.

  • Just five states accounted for two-thirds of the sector's job growth: Texas, Florida, Georgia, Arizona and Utah.
  • "If we look at population numbers or just total job growth, most of these places in the Sun Belt are just kind of hotbeds for where people are moving to and where companies are adding jobs," says August Benzow, research lead at EIG.
  • Transportation and food accounted for much of the growth. Another bright spot was computer and electronics, spurred on by the Biden administration's efforts to bolster domestic chip making.

Zoom in: Manufacturing jobs are still disappearing in the Rust Belt, including in battleground states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin. That group saw jobs in the sector decline 1.7% from 2019 to 2023.

Zoom out: Though manufacturing grabs a lot of attention politically, it's not a big piece of the overall job market anymore.

  • In 1970, manufacturing jobs made up 31% of private employment. In 2023, that share was down to 9.7%, notes EIG.

Back to top