A breakdown of the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers for the manufacturing industry.
The U.S. supported 12.3 million manufacturing jobs this past July, up nearly 160,000 jobs from this time last year,according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The industry is still down nearly 2 million jobs from a decade ago.
The transportation sector owns the largest share, at about 13%.
Petroleum and coal product manufacturing accounts for only 1% of total jobs, but has the highest average wage: $38.98/hr. Computer and electronics came in second at $34.07/hr.
Unemployment for the manufacturing industry was one percentage point lower than the national average.
Overall, the unemployment rate in the petroleum and coal product sector is 36% higher than the manufacturing average, while making electric equipment and components is going strong, with half the average unemployment.
