According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the United States has over the past twenty-three years gone from a manufacturing-centered economy to one that is reliant on the health care and social assistance industry to provide jobs for the largest percentage of its citizens.
“In 1990, the manufacturing industry was the leading employer in most U.S. states, followed by retail trade,” explained BLS analyst Frances Osei-Bonsu. “In 2003, retail trade was the leading employer in a majority of states. By 2013, health care and social assistance was the dominant industry in 34 states.”
This map created by the Wall St. Journal shows how the top industries by employment have changed from state to state between 1990 and 2013:
According to the Labor Department, “The largest increase in healthcare and social assistance employment in the states occurred in 2009, as retail trade, manufacturing, and other industries showed declines with the onset of the most recent recession.”
The health care industry surpassed manufacturing in total number of jobs in 2004, as illustrated by this line graph from WSJ:
But one thing that sticks out from map above is that the state of Alabama did not change colors. While the bulk of the country shifted from yellow (manufacturing) to blue (health care), Sweet Home Alabama remained a state that makes things.
As a matter of fact, Alabama is one of only four U.S. states in which manufacturing was the top industry every year between 1990 and 2013. Even Michigan, once the unrivaled king of American auto-manufacturing, had its manufacturing sector overtaken by the health care and social assistance sector from 2009-2012.
As of 2013, manufacturing was the largest industry in just seven states, down from 36 in 1990.
With Alabama’s booming auto manufacturing, budding technology sector, and high-flying aerospace industry, the “Made in Alabama” tag is poised to really mean something to companies and consumers around the globe for decades to come.
To see an automated map that shows how the largest industries in each state have changed from year to year, head over to the BLS website.
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