State of the Middle Class

Manufacturing and Jobs

High-wage manufacturing jobs down

America’s competitors continue to place more emphasis on manufacturing. Meanwhile, the U.S. has drastically cut the number of high-paying manufacturing jobs for people without a college degree over the past decades.

Manufacturing jobs pay great!

Non-supervisory jobs in manufacturing pay extremely well, much more than service positions, including if you don’t have a college degree. The benefits have greater value too, adding to the difference in compensation.

Average Yearly Compensation for Non-Supervisors, July 2026

Average Annual Wages

Average Annual Benefits

Sources

Manufacturing opportunities have plummeted

The percentage of jobs available in manufacturing has decreased steadily since 1960.  This especially hurts those without a college degree who face lower salaries in other industries.

Percentage of Manufacturing Jobs in the U.S.

Sources

Percent of Economy in Manufacturing, 2025

Sources

Our competitors place more emphasis on manufacturing!

The United States’ main competitors dedicate a much larger portion of their economy to manufacturing, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP).

Pay and Benefits for Non-Supervisory Workers Sources

Income data for each manufacturing and service industry was taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s Industries at a Glance. Nonsupervisory weekly hours and wages were used to calculate annual income estimates. While some percentage will have bachelor’s degrees or higher, the predominate number of non-supervisory workers in these industries possess let than a bachelor’s degree. Benefit data is taken from Employer Costs for Employee Compensation provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Benefits for each industry are calculated by subtracting the total benefits provided by the legally required benefits.

Manufacturing Jobs Sources

The total amount of manufacturing employees is a sum of all manufacturing, construction, and mining employees provided by Federal Reserve Economic Data. The percentage of all jobs is calculated by dividing by FRED’s All Employee, Total Nonfarm total.

Manufacturing as a Percentage of GDP Sources

The manufacturing percentage is defined by dividing the dollar value added of the manufacturing, construction, mining, and utilities sectors combined by gross domestic product (GDP). The United States’ percentage of GDP is calculated by using the sums provided by the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s GDP by Industry. All other countries’ totals can be found at the World Bank.