August 6, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Manufacturing employment most prevalent in Midwest

In 1997, the Midwest had the highest proportion of workers employed in manufacturing. Manufacturing accounted for 24.7 percent of private nonagricultural employment in the Midwest, compared to 19.9 percent in the Northeast, 19.5 percent in the South, and 18.9 percent in the West.

[Chart data—TXT]

Within manufacturing, most workers were employed in the durable goods division. The Midwest had the highest proportion of private nonagricultural employment in durable goods at 16.4 percent, while the South had the lowest at 10.3 percent. In the Northeast, 11.2 percent of all private nonagricultural workers were employed in durable goods manufacturing, and in the West, the proportion was 12.1 percent.

Men were much more likely than women to work in manufacturing. For example, in the Midwest, 32.2 percent of male workers and 15.9 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, 1997 (PDF, 966K), (BLS Bulletin 2515).