This map shows the change in manufacturing’s share of GDP during the 2003-2015 period by the state and province. Although manufacturing as a share of GDP has shrunk ↓ in many places, it has expanded ↑ at a healthy pace in others.
Let’s start by looking at Oregon, where manufacturing as a share of GDP grew the most between 2003 and 2015 among North American states—11.6 percentage points, largely due to chip making.
It didn’t lead to bigger paychecks, though. The average earnings for all workers statewide grew only 9% from 2003 to 2015. For an elite group of workers—those making computers and electronics—wages rose 37%. For the rest of the workers in manufacturing, it was a mere 3%.
Aguascalientes expanded its manufacturing industry by nearly 150% between 2003 and 2015, accounting for an extra 10.5 percentage points of the state’s GDP, an increase second only to Oregon.
However, the average earnings for all workers in Aguascalientes grew just 6% over 12 years, below the median growth of 12% among Mexican states.
Consider Ontario and Michigan, which sit across the US-Canada border from each other and are both big auto producers. In 2003, manufacturing made up roughly 19% of each entity’s economy.
Between 2003 and 2015, that share remained steady in Michigan but fell 5.9 percentage points in Ontario. Various factors contributed, including a strengthening Canadian dollar.
Yet it was Michigan residents whose pocketbooks suffered. Average earnings dropped by 1% between 2001 and 2015; Ontario’s grew by more than 7%.