ABSTRACT
The level of dependence on manufacturing varies greatly from state to state in the USA. In 1990, 18,840,000 employees were on the manufacturing payroll, 7.6 per cent of the total population of the USA. Of that total, only 12,130,000 were actually production workers. Column (10) in Table 9.2 shows the employees in manufacturing in each state as a percentage of the total population of the state. All the states of the Northeast region except New York and all the states of the East North Central region had above the US average in manufacturing, although in most the level was not far above that average. The traditional industrial base of the USA thus remains strong in spite of the decline of many sectors there. In the South there is greater variation, but here also most of the states have above-average levels. By the criteria used, the Dakotas, Florida, and most of the states of the West are the least dependent on manufacturing, with (in addition to DC), Wyoming, Nevada and Hawaii having only about 2 per cent.
