How much of our economy was manufacturing in the 1980s? How much is manufacturing now? Why has the reduction hurt us? Is our GDP smaller than in the 1980s? Is our household net worth lower?
Peak manufacturing levels in the US hit its high in 1979 with about 20 million employed in production related businesses. Today there are roughly 15 million American workers engaged in manufaturing jobs. Even though the US has stayed somewhat competitive against low wage countries through innovation, its quite obvious we aren't the manufacturing giant we once were. In the early 1980`s the US became a nation of service workers. 20 yeasr ago GM was the largest employer in the US. Today the largest employer is a service company called, WalMart. Service related jobs businesses have outpaced production manufacturing jobs. Making the US a service oriented country in the 21st century.