Manufacturing

Job opportunities in the manufacturing industry are expected to increase by only 0.8 percent from 2023 through 2033, according to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Employment is expected to decline in many manufacturing specialty sectors, including printing and related support activities (-18.2 percent); textile mills and textile product mills (-12.4 percent); engine, turbine, and power transmission equipment manufacturing (-4.2 percent); and petroleum and coal products manufacturing (-2.9 percent).

Several factors are influencing slow employment growth/declines in the industry. Companies continue to relocate factories to foreign countries with lower labor and material costs. Automation has also contributed to slower growth in factory jobs. In continued efforts to cut labor costs and increase efficiency and productivity, manufacturers are replacing much of their labor force with robotics-based machinery that is often powered by advanced artificial intelligence. To remain competitive in global markets, many companies are striving to become even more automated, which will in turn eliminate even more jobs. While many assembly line jobs will disappear, the demand for engineers (who program, install, and maintain the automated machinery) and robotics integrators (who design robotics systems, program and outfit industrial robots), should be strong.

The following manufacturing sectors will experience stronger growth through 2033, according to the DOL:

• beverage and tobacco product manufacturing: +23.9 percent
• electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing: +16.1 percent
• computer and electronic product manufacturing: +6.6 percent
• food manufacturing: +6.5 percent
• pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing: +4.9 percent
• plastics and rubber products manufacturing: +4.5 percent
• ship and boat manufacturing: +3.2 percent

Despite the weak outlook in many sectors, many job openings will occur as current workers retire or leave the field for other reasons. "Over the next decade, 3.8 million manufacturing jobs will likely be needed, and 1.9 million are expected to be unfilled if we do not inspire more people to pursue modern manufacturing careers," according to the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). "Of open jobs, 2.8 million will come from retirement and 760,000 from industry growth; an estimated 230,000 jobs will be created from recent legislative and regulatory actions."

Economists remain optimistic about the U.S. manufacturing industry, regardless of declines in this sector. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, "manufacturing is the main engine of innovation in the United States, responsible for 55 percent of all patents and 70 percent of all research and development spending."

The key to remaining competitive in manufacturing will be innovation and access to talented workers. The ideal employee will need to possess a wide range of technical skills. A total of 1.9 million open positions in 2033 could potentially go unfilled because of a widening skills gap, according to Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute. In 2024, 65 percent of respondents in the National Association of Manufacturers’ 2024 Quarter 1 Outlook identified attracting and retaining talent as their primary business challenge.

Advances in technology are creating demand for new types of skilled workers in the manufacturing industry. A 2024 report from Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute found that there has been a significant increase in demand for workers with simulation and simulation software skills—especially for technology-enabled production or testing roles. "Roles like statisticians, data scientists, engineers, logisticians, computer and information systems managers, software developers, and industrial maintenance technicians are likely to grow at the fastest pace between 2022 and 2032," according to the report, Taking Charge: Manufacturers Support Growth with Active Workforce Strategies. (The report was based on an online survey of more than 200 U.S. manufacturers, interviews with senior manufacturing executives, and an analysis of other data.) "For production roles," according to the report, "the fastest growing are likely to be those that require higher-level skill sets like semiconductor processing technicians, machinists, first-line supervisors, welders, and electronics and electromechanical assemblers."

The average manufacturing worker in the U.S. earned $102,629 (including pay and benefits) annually in 2024, according to the National Association of Manufacturers.

The average salary (not including benefits) for manufacturing workers in all professions was $71,718 in November 2024, according to the DOL. Production and nonsupervisory employees had average salaries of $58,864. The national average for all private sector workers was $63,098 in 2023, according to the DOL. It’s important to note that some workers earn average salaries that are much lower than the national average for all professions. Examples (with salaries from the DOL in 2023) include inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers, $49,220; machinists, $53,820; team assemblers, $44,120; and helpers-production workers, $39,080. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that 93 percent of manufacturing employees were eligible for health insurance benefits in 2024.

Women comprised 29 percent of the manufacturing workforce in 2023, according to the NAM. This is still lower than their representation (47 percent) in the American workforce. Many positions that are held by females in the manufacturing industry are low-skill and/or low paying, although the percentage of women in high-skill and managerial positions has increased in recent years. In 2022, the Manufacturing Institute, the NAM’s 501(c)3 workforce development and education partner, launched the 35×30 campaign, an initiative that seeks to increase the percentage of women in the manufacturing workforce to 35 percent by 2030. Organizations such as Women in Manufacturing and Women in Manufacturing Education Foundation are also making efforts to increase the number of women in the industry.