WASHINGTON – The Commerce Department’s U.S. Census Bureau today released new residential construction data for May 2012. Permits for new housing units climbed 7.9 percent from April. Housing starts were down 4.8 percent from April but up 28.5 percent from May 2011.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Commerce John Bryson issued the following statement today on the release of the April 2012 U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services report by the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis. U.S. goods and services exports in April 2012 were down 0.8 percent from March 2012 to reach $182.9 billion.
U.S. goods and services exports year-to-date through the first four months of 2012 were up 6.0 percent or $41.4 billion from the same period of 2011 to reach $725.8 billion.
Manufacturing jobs becoming more skilled and heavily reliant on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.
Executive Summary
The role of the manufacturing sector in the U.S. economy is more prominent than is suggested solely by its output or number of workers. It is a cornerstone of innovation in our economy: manufacturing firms fund most domestic corporate research and development (R&D), and the resulting innovations and productivity growth improve our standard of living. Manufacturing also drives U.S. exports and is crucial for a strong national defense.
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