Wages in the U.S. Manufacturing industry

Abstract

Based on data from official American statistics, the issue of wages in the United States of America manufacturing industry has been considered. This study is an important area of study of modern social and economic problems of the United States. Manufacturing plays an important role in the economy of the US, because it creates a material basis for all other industries. The trends and problems in this area have been revealed in the article. For a comprehensive analysis a systematic approach, economic-statistical and logical research methods have been used in the paper. A comprehensive study of wages in the most important sectors of the national economy has been carried out, based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the US Department of Labor. Separate attention has been paid to the category of “production workers”, whose share is about 70%. The statistical data on the average annual wage of production workers by industry according to the NAICS have been adduced. The significance of the manufacturing industry in creating, maintaining and returning jobs for the US economy has been shown.The difference in wages depending on the level of education, work experience and profession has been analyzed. The data on the highest paid industrial professions have been adduced. The uneven distribution of the manufacturing industry by states has been shown. It has been noted, that the reduction in the coverage of the trade union movement of American workers is another factor, affecting the level of wages. The correlation between production volume and Gini Coefficient in the USA in the period from 1947 to 2014 has been presented in the article. It has been noticed, that the growth of inequality in the US income and the decline of the manufacturing industry are interrelated.