Much of our manufacturing tech has been sold and shipped overseas with nary a thought for consequence. Recall rare-earth magnets used in guidance systems?
Manufacturing employment is an important indicator of the economy’s health as it provides opportunity for those without MBA degrees to support their families and put their minds into a productive process. I’d like to see this number also adjusted for non-food manufacturing, because much more of our food is processed today than ever before. This is not to suggest restrictive trade policy but perhaps saner tax, enviro and reg policies which might help struggling small manufacturers who would like to keep things close to home.
When my Dad was born half the nation worked on farms and everyone said farm employment was economic health. Now farm labor is half a percent. Simply deciding to like farms or to love factories doesn't make sense. It may be true love but it won't feed the family.
The Clinton Administration had the power to stop the Magnequench sale, and it didn’t, much like the Clinton EPA had the power to keep that rare-earths mine open in California, but didn’t.
Why? Food processing is manufacturing.
One of the definitions of capitalism is the separation of the goods-making process into more and more increasingly complex steps. It's through that increasing complexity that capital is ultimately employed to produce more goods at less cost.
The food processing industry is a perfect example of that. Where food once went directly from the farmer to the consumer, it now undergoes several phases of refinement which increase its safety, shelf-life and distribution area.
This process can only be maintained -- as many above have pointed out -- by struggling against government policies that choke off the creation and free-flow of capital.
This article is correct that our manufacturing base hasn't declined as many seem to believe, but it could represent a significantly higher percentage of GDP if we hadn't diverted so much of our capital into non-productive ventures [read government] over the past several decades.
The transition to a service-oriented economy is not inevitable.