According to the publication authored by Vittoria Dicandia, real value-added output in US manufacturing reached approximately $2.4 trillion as of the third quarter of 2025, accounting for roughly 9.5 percent of the nation's GDP. While the United States remains a leading global manufacturing economy—ranking second behind China and accounting for about 15 percent of global manufacturing value added in 2023—the sector's footprint has shrunk considerably from its mid-twentieth-century peak of about 25 percent of GDP.
The analysis highlights a sustained decline in manufacturing's employment share, dropping from roughly 25 percent of the workforce in 1976 to about 10 percent by June 2025. This decrease is primarily driven by a reduced entry of workers into the sector at the start of their careers. Furthermore, the report notes that productivity growth in manufacturing has lagged behind the broader private nonfarm business sector since the mid-2000s, while the historical wage premium once associated with manufacturing work has steadily eroded for less-educated workers.
