Potential Economic and Job Growth Engine: A Renovated U.S. Manufacturing Sector

At an MIT conference yesterday, Commerce Secretary Bryson said the just-released report, The Benefits of Manufacturing Jobs, is fresh evidence that manufacturing jobs support economic security for America’s middle class.

The role of the manufacturing sector in the U.S. economy is more prominent than is suggested solely by its output or number of workers. It is a cornerstone of innovation in our economy: manufacturing firms fund most domestic corporate research and development (R&D), and the resulting innovations and productivity growth improve our standard of living. Manufacturing also drives U.S. exports and is crucial for a strong national defense…

The innovative manufacturing sector relies more heavily on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education than the non-manufacturing sectors. In 2011, nearly 1 out of 3 (32 percent) of college-educated manufacturing workers had a STEM job, compared to 10 percent in non-manufacturing sectors…

Total hourly compensation, which includes employer-provided benefits, was $38.27 for workers in manufacturing jobs and $32.84 for workers in non-manufacturing jobs, a 17 percent premium...

He also noted a recent report, A Third Industrial Revolution, in The Economist which makes the case for a resurgence in manufacturing through use of social and 3D technologies. This report says a more individualized and digital production sector could bring jobs back to richer countries.

Read the Commerce report.