From the Bureau of Labor Statistics at
http://www.bls.gov/iag/iag.manufacturing.htm Manufacturing
Manufacturing is by far the largest of the goods-producing industries in terms of employment. While factories account for just a little more than a third of goods-producing establishments, manufacturing employees outnumber their colleagues in construction and mining by nearly 3-to-1. Manufacturing represents about 5 percent of all establishments and about 14 percent of all employment covered by unemployment insurance.
Employment data based on an establishment survey show annual average employment in manufacturing fluctuating from 18.1 million to 18.8 million between 1991 and 2000, before declining sharply in 2001 and 2002. In 2002, manufacturing employment stood at 16.7 million. From its cyclical trough in 1991, employment for the economy as a whole increased every year until it fell between 2001 and 2002.
Over the 1991-2002 period, the unemployment rate in manufacturing rose to 7.8 percent in 1992 and fell to 3.6 percent in 2000, then jumped to 5.2 percent in 2001 and 6.7 percent in 2002. The overall unemployment rate in 2002 was 5.8 percent.
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