Manufacturing jobs in the US surpass 13 million in September for the first since 2008
For the first time since 2008, more than thirteen million workers in the US are employed in the manufacturing sector.
After decades of decline, the number of manufacturing jobs in the US is beginning to tick up. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that in September, the number of workers employed in the sector surpassed thirteen million, a benchmark that has not been met since 2008.
In 2008, nonsupervisory workers employed in the manufacturing sector made an average of $17.75 an hour. Accounting for inflation, in today’s dollars, this wage would be worth around $25.37, only $0.83 less than the average in 2023 ($26.20). This slight difference means that while wages have kept up with inflation, the conditions for workers in the sector have not improved substantially over the last fifteen years.
More jobs, deteriorating conditions
In part, the deterioration or stagnation in pay and conditions could relate to the massive decline in union membership throughout the sector. From 2008 to 2022, union membership within the various industries that make up the manufacturing sector fell from 11.4 to 7.8 percent. Comparing the average weekly earnings of workers represented by unions and those that are not, the former group has a median weekly income ($1,116) that is slightly higher than the latter group ($1,098).
The decline in union membership has also been parallelled with increased workplace fatalities, with 383 workers losing their lives in 2021.
| Year | Workplace fatalities |
| 2011 | 327 |
| 2012 | 327 |
| 2013 | 312 |
| 2014 | 349 |
| 2015 | 353 |
| 2016 | 318 |
| 2017 | 303 |
| 2018 | 343 |
| 2019 | N/A |
| 2020 | 340 |
| 2021 | 383 |
Additionally, while overall, a greater number of workers are offered a retirement benefit plan, the number offered pensions, or what the BLS calls defined benefit plans, has been cut in half, falling from 31 percent to 15 percent since 2010. The percentage of workers offered healthcare benefits remains high but has fallen by one percent to ninety percent over the last decade.
Over the last ten years, there has been no improvement in the situation of workers in terms of paid leave in the manufacturing sector. On completion of one year of service, an average manufacturing worker is entitled to only eight days of paid leave. Additionally, those who have worked for twenty years or more have experienced a decline in the number of paid days off from nineteen to eighteen since 2013.