Vermont: Exports, Jobs, and Foreign Investment

Exports Support Jobs for Vermont's Workers

Export-supported jobs linked to manufacturing account for an estimated 9.0 percent of Vermont's total private-sector employment, the third highest figure among the 50 states. Over one-quarter (27.3 percent) of all manufacturing workers in Vermont depend on exports for their jobs, the fifth highest figure among the 50 states. (2006 data are the latest available.)

Note: Export-related employment data shown do not include manufacturing and non-manufacturing jobs involved in the export of non-manufactured goods, such as farm products, minerals, and services sold to foreign buyers. Indirect exports exclude imported items. The complete 2006 export-related employment series is available on our Export Related Jobs pages. Additional information on methodology used in the export-related employment series can be found in the U.S. Census Bureau's publication Exports from Manufacturing Establishments: 2006.

Source: State Export-Related Employment Project, International Trade Administration and Bureau of the Census.

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Exports Sustain Hundreds of Vermont Businesses

A total of 872 companies exported goods from Vermont locations in 2006. Of those, 746 (86 percent) were small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with fewer than 500 employees.

SMEs generated 11 percent of Vermont's total exports of merchandise in 2006.

Source: International Trade Administration and Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade Division: Exporter Database.

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Foreign Investment Creates Jobs in Vermont

In 2006, foreign-controlled companies employed 9,800 workers in Vermont. Major sources of Vermont's jobs in 2006 were Canada, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

More than 24 percent of these jobs (2,400 workers) were employed in the manufacturing sector in 2006. Foreign-controlled companies accounted for 6.5 percent of total manufacturing employment in Vermont in 2006.

Foreign investment in Vermont was responsible for 3.7 percent of the state’s total private-industry employment in 2006.

Note: All figures exclude employment in banks affiliated with foreign companies.

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.

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Vermont Depends on World Markets

Vermont's export shipments of merchandise in 2007 totaled $3.7 billion. Vermont's exports of merchandise increased 40 percent from 2003 to 2007.

Vermont exported to 145 foreign destinations in 2007. The state's largest market in 2007 by far was NAFTA member Canada, which received exports of $1.6 billion (44 percent) of Vermont's merchandise export total. Canada was followed by Hong Kong ($345 million), South Korea ($261 million), Malaysia ($243 million), and Taiwan ($210 million).

Among manufactured products, the state's leading export category is computers and electronic products, which accounted for $2.7 billion (74 percent) of Vermont's total merchandise exports in 2007. Other top manufactured exports that year were machinery manufactures ($161 million), transportation equipment ($124 million), and processed foods ($85 million).

Source: Revised Origin of Movement State Export Series, Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade Division.

Caution: The Origin of Movement series allocates exports to states based on transportation origin, i.e., the state from which goods began their journey to the port (or other point) of exit from the United States. The transportation origin of exports is not always the same as the location where the goods were produced. Consequently, conclusions about "export production" in a state should not be made solely on the basis of the Origin of Movement state export figures.

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Vermont's Metropolitan Exports

In the first half of 2007, the metropolitan area of Burlington-South Burlington exported $1.3 billion in merchandise, 83 percent of Vermont's total merchandise exports.

Source: International Trade Administration and Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade Division: Metropolitan Export Series.

Caution: The Origin of Movement zip-based series allocates exports to metropolitan areas based on transportation origin, i.e., the metropolitan area from which goods began their journey to the port (or other point) of exit from the United States. The transportation origin of exports is not always the same as the location where the goods were produced. Consequently, conclusions about "export production" in a metropolitan area should not be made solely on the basis of the Origin of Movement zip-based export figures.

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