A 30-year analysis of Northeast manufacturing employment trends

This article examines high-level manufacturing employment trends in the U.S. Northeast region between 1990 and 2019. In addition, the article presents a detailed industry analysis looking at three different periods within this 30-year time span: 1990–99, 2000–09, and 2010–19. Each of these periods exhibited manufacturing employment changes affected by either economic downturns or postrecessionary recoveries. The year 2019 marked the 40th anniversary of the 1979 national manufacturing employment peak, at which manufacturing employment reached a record high of 19.4 million, making up 21.6 percent of total nonfarm employment.1 Since 1979, manufacturing employment has declined substantially; in 2019, it was estimated at 12.8 million, accounting for 8.5 percent of total nonfarm employment. The manufacturing industry encompasses any establishment (usually a plant, a factory, or a mill) that transforms raw materials into new products, such as automobiles or steel.2 Manufacturing goods are classified as either durable or nondurable.