Manufacturing Remains Top Employer in Wisconsin, Indiana

Manufacturing was the top employer in only two states –Wisconsin and Indiana – in 2016, a sharp decline from 2000 when the industry employed the most people in 18 states, according to a new report.

The report, released by Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., details just how much manufacturing employment has fallen since its height in the beginning of the 20th century.

As automation and an increase in foreign trade has reduced the need for manufacturing employees, manufacturing jobs have fallen from 23% of all U.S. employment in 1940 to 10% in 2016.

"Manufacturing's employment base shrank even further after China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001," Anthony Carnevale, lead author of the report, said in a press release.

Manufacturing also accounts for a smaller portion of the economy due to the service industry, including educational, health and financial services, growing in importance.

Though the number of manufacturing workers has dropped, the industry's output has increased due to greater productivity per worker. Between 2000 and 2016, nine states expanded their total manufacturing output despite a drop in workers.

Indiana, for example, saw a 20% drop in its number of manufacturing workers from 2000 to 2016, yet its output increased from $83 billion to $92 billion.

The Hoosier State's share of workers in manufacturing dropped from 18% in 2000 to 14% in 2016, but the industry still employs the most residents. Similarly, Wisconsin's share of manufacturing employees dropped from 18% to 13% over the same time period.

While the manufacturing industry employs the most workers in just those two Midwestern states, Carnevale notes that manufacturing remains a major source of employment for workers without a bachelor's degree in 35 states.

As of 2018, production workers in the U.S. had a mean annual wage of $34,490, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.