Then compare the percentage of working age people with a job to that of today.
Thenn factor in goods produced, wages and inflation.
I don't think it would look so rosy.
As for total cost of goods manufactured, it takes many fewer people to manufacture a billion dollar jet fighter, even considering all of the vendors that supply electronics, etc. than it does to make a billion dollars worth of furniture, socks, T-shirts, etc.
So yes, a smaller percent of the population is doing OK. The larger part is not.
Yeah, I agree 100% that I'm more interesting than the article, but that would be a different thread. The article only cares about 2010 to now and they seem to be using bogus info besides the fact that they ignore factory output going back to 2001. If you're curious about how things added up earlier, you're welcome to check out the Fed's data set for mfg employees, industry output, and production wages.
Neither of us has to say that the Fed's numbers are right, but we do have to know that they don't match w/ article's theme of "grim" manufacturing.