Is the US a manufacturing economy?

Five Killer Charts

Good morning – here are your five chart for the day. Each one comes snap stat, quick take and why it matters. Skim, steal, forward (but always credit!!).

CHART 1 • Factory jobs fade as new trades rise

The American assembly line remains productive today, but robots and sensors now handle most of the work that human hands once did. This shift represents a dramatic transformation: in the 1970s, nearly a quarter of US workers were employed in manufacturing, compared to fewer than one in ten today.

This chart illustrates that transformation – factory payrolls have collapsed while modern service trades have expanded. The data challenges political nostalgia for manufacturing's heyday and points capital toward investing in tomorrow's workforce rather than yesterday's jobs.

Snap stat – 9% of US workers are in manufacturing, down from 24% in the 1970s.

Quick take – Skilled service jobs are becoming the new path to middle-class income, replacing factory work.

Why it matters – Politicians promising to bring back mass manufacturing jobs are targeting yesterday's economy, not tomorrow's opportunities.

Steal-this-caption – “Three out of four manufacturing jobs that existed in the 1970s are gone, and they're not coming back.” #FiveChartsDaily

Source: Economist

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