July 25, 2001 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Manufacturing employment by region, 1999

In 1999, the Midwest had the highest proportion of workers employed in manufacturing. Manufacturing accounted for 24 percent of private nonagricultural employment in the Midwest, compared to 17.9 percent in the Northeast, 18.3 percent in the South, and 16.8 percent in the West.

[Chart data—TXT]

Within the manufacturing industry, most workers were employed in the durable goods division. The Midwest had the highest proportion of private nonagricultural employment in durable goods at 16.1 percent, while the South had the lowest at 10 percent. In the West, 11.2 percent of all private nonagricultural workers were employed in durable goods manufacturing, and in the Northeast, the proportion was 10.3 percent.

Men were much more likely than women to work in manufacturing. For example, in the Midwest, 31.2 percent of male workers and 15.6 percent of female workers were employed in manufacturing.

These data on employment are a product of the Current Population Survey. The data refer to private nonagricultural wage and salary workers. Additional information is available from Geographic Profile of Employment and Unemployment, 1999 (PDF 994K) (BLS Bulletin 2537).