The health of the manufacturing sector in the U.S. has been a major focus of public attention in recent years. Manufacturing jobs have historically been a pathway to the middle class, offering good pay without requiring high levels of education,…
Manufacturing is important to the U.S. economy for. Manufacturing jobs have historically been a pathway to the middle class, offering good pay without requiring high levels of education. Companies that rely on manufacturing invest heavily in research and development, which helps drive innovation. Domestic manufacturing also contributes to more secure and resilient supply chains—a point that has become clearBut in recent decades, the role of manufacturing in the U.S. economy has been diminished.
, manufacturing jobs peaked at 19.5 million in the late 1970s and fell off sharply after 2000 to just 12.6 million today.Manufacturing accounts for a much smaller share of the US workforce than in decades past