Electronics Manufacturing

Approximately 1.09 million Americans were employed in the computer electronic equipment manufacturing industry in 2023, as reported by the Department of Labor (DOL). This reflects an overall decline of employment in this industry. As of 2008, there were more than 1.2 million employees in the industry. The DOL projects that the manufacturing sector as a whole will experience employment declines of 0.4 percent through 2033. Contributing factors to the decline include the continuing automation of manufacturing processes and the trend for U.S. electronics companies to move their production and assembly operations to lower-wage countries, such as those in the Pacific Rim.

Growth will also vary among the different types of jobs in the industry. More growth is expected among the professional specialty occupations, such as scientists, engineers, and computer systems analysts. This is because of the increasing sophistication of technology and manufacturing processes as well as the competitive nature of the industry, which leads to strong efforts in research and development and the greatly reduced life cycle of products in the industry. Production positions will decline due to increasing technological advancements in manufacturing and outsourcing of positions to plants that are located in foreign countries.

The electronics industry is extremely susceptible to economic conditions, both within the United States and around the world. Global competition is increasing, and many U.S. manufacturers are joining in partnerships with foreign companies, most notably Japanese companies, in order to succeed. The environment is extremely competitive and is expected to remain so in the future.

Employment opportunities within individual companies will be significantly affected by those companies' efforts to remain competitive. Many companies reduced their workforces during the 1990s in order to have leaner staffs and less operating expenses. Radical changes are not unusual as a company drops one product line, adds another, or gears down after a large project. For example, a large company may lay off a large number of workers in one area of the company, while at the same time it may hire new employees for a different area. Electronics professionals can expect to change jobs and companies several times during their careers. In order to succeed, professionals will need to acquire multiple skills, have a strong technical foundation, and stay up to date on changing technologies.

The use of electronic components in automobiles has been growing steadily since the early 1990s and that trend has increased dramatically in the 2000s due to the steadily rising use of computers and other elements in vehicles. In the late 1970s, electronic parts made up only about 1 percent of the total cost of an automobile. According Statista, this figure had reached 35 percent by 2010 and was projected to total 50 percent by 2030.

By 2024, electronic automotive systems had increased in number and complexity. Vehicles featured systems responsible for preventing accidents, such as lane departure warning, road departure assist, and lane centering assist systems. More robust electronic components also were needed to provide on-board Internet connectivity and support vehicle-to-vehicle communication systems that wirelessly exchanged data about things like position and speed between nearby cars and trucks. The automotive industry's focus on developing autonomous vehicles is another example of the growing importance of electronic components in vehicles.

Electronic navigational systems are much more common in the automotive industry, as well as many other industries. These systems are based on technology developed by the Department of Defense for its global positioning system, a satellite-based navigational system used for military purposes (and now also available to the general public). Many automobiles are now equipped with electronic GPS systems, as well as computers that automate accessory use such as headlights, heat, and air-conditioning. Another electronic navigational technology being developed is an enhanced vision system that allows airplane pilots to "see" through weather through the use of electronic sensors that create high-resolution radar imagery.

The advent of digital-only broadcasting in the United States in 2009 led to the rapid adoption of HDTV (high-definition television) products. HDTV broadcasts use digital technology to produce twice the picture resolution of traditional televisions. HDTV can also display computer graphics and show movies in their original widescreen height-to-width ratio. A consumer research group reported that, in 2015, 81 percent of U.S. households had at least one high-definition TV set, and about 52 percent had multiple HDTVs. This is a jump compared to just five years before, when less than 50 percent of U.S. households had only one HDTV, and only 17 percent of households had several HDTVs. Since then, 4K and ultra high definition (UHD) TV have developed, each offering sharper resolution than previous formats. In recent years, Internet-connected television has also grown. Nielsen reported that in 2023, more than 70 percent of U.S. homes owned at least one smart TV, and that the number of households that were getting TV content from an Internet connection had grown by more than 210 percent from 2018 to 2023.

The computer industry is a leader in creating technologically advanced products. According to the Pew Research Center, in 2023, an estimated 95 percent of U.S. adults had Internet access. That year, 80 percent of American adults used broadband Internet access at home. Computer and semiconductor companies are constantly working on developing lighter, smaller, and more efficient electronic components that can be used in computers and related products. Before a product even comes out, engineers and scientists are working on creating a faster and better version.

The global semiconductor industry generated $526.8 billion in 2023. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association, this was an 8.2 percent decrease compared to the industry's record high total of $574.1 billion in sales in 2022. SIA reported that the semiconductor products that generated the most sales in 2023 included logic products, memory products, microcontroller units, and automotive integrated circuits. Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and virtual reality are expected to stimulate demand in the coming years. Nanotechnology is also leading to many changes in this industry and remains at the forefront of innovation.

Electronic manufacturing suffered serious disruptions in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic that began in China. As countries implemented travel bans, international trade suffered and supply chains broke down, meaning raw materials and parts needed for manufacturing finished products were delayed or unavailable. The overall economic slowdown that came with the pandemic contributed to declines in sales for some electronics goods while demand soared for others, such as video-gaming systems, because companies could not fill all orders. Some workers in this field faced unemployment, and many companies saw smaller profits or even losses than in previous years. The consumer electronics manufacturing industry is in recovery mode as the economy strengthens and supply chain problems have subsided.

The circuit board and electronic component manufacturing sector in the U.S. consists of about 2,516 businesses that employ 168,00 people, as of September 2024. The research group IBISWorld reported small annual growth, .9 percent, in this sector from 2019 to 2024. The circuit board and electronic component manufacturing industry has ramped up its domestic semiconductor production, with the help of a $52 billion infusion from the U.S. government's CHIPS (Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors) Act. The industry is expected to continue facing challenges, however, due to offshoring, increased competition from electronics supply chains, and increased costs.

The global consumer electronics manufacturing industry, valued at $1.6 trillion in 2023. According to IBISWorld, the industry experienced .3 percent annual decline in revenue from 2018 through 2023 due to supply chain disruptions because of the pandemic. IBISWorld reports that there are 3,719 businesses with total employment of 17 million people in the global consumer electronics manufacturing industry. Moderate growth is expected through 2028. In post-pandemic times, the increase in competition coupled with decline in prices for industry products will limit growth in the consumer electronics manufacturing sector. On a positive note, IBISWorld states that through 2028, the "consumer electronics manufacturing industry will return to growth." And that as supply chain problems continue to ease, increased automobile and airplane production volumes will contribute strongly to this growth. From 2023 through 2028, the global consumer electronics manufacturing industry is expected to have 3.1 percent annual growth.