Manufacturing, Wholesale, and Distribution

• The United States is the world's largest manufacturing economy, producing 21 percent of global manufactured products. China is second at 15 percent and Japan is third at 12 percent.¹

• U.S. manufacturing produces $1.6 trillion of value each year, or 11.2 percent of U.S. GDP.²

• Manufacturing supports an estimated 18.6 million jobs in the U.S.—about one in six private sector jobs.³ Nearly 12 million Americans (or 9 percent of the workforce) are employed directly in manufacturing.⁴

• In 2009, the average U.S. manufacturing worker earned $74,447 annually, including pay and benefits. The average non-manufacturing worker earned $63,122 annually.⁵

• U.S. manufacturers are the most productive workers in the world—twice as productive as workers in the next 10 leading manufacturing economies.

• U.S. manufacturers perform two-thirds of all R&D in the nation, driving more innovation than any other sector.⁶

• Taken alone, U.S. Manufacturing would be the 9th largest economy in the world. ⁷

¹ United Nations, Statistics Division (2009).
² U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Industry Economic Accounts (2009).
³ The Facts About Modern Manufacturing(2009).
⁴ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
⁵ U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Compensation of Employees by Industry and Full-Time Equivalent Employees by Industry.
⁶ National Science Foundation (2008).
⁷ U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Industry Economic Accounts (2009) and International Monetary Fund (2009).

Justin Hayes is an accountant in Katz, Sapper & Miller's Audit and Assurance Services Department, which is comprised of individuals skilled at evaluating business and control risks for clients.