Change and innovation in Georgia manufacturing: a 10 year perspective

Small and medium-sized manufacturers in the United States are experiencing increasing challenges in today’s global economy. U.S. manufacturing employment declined by nearly 13 percent from 1998 to 2002. More than 2.25 million manufacturing jobs were lost during this time period. Ninety-eight percent of all manufacturers, or approximately 350,000 enterprises are small or mid-sized, having 500 or fewer employees. These enterprises account for over half of the value of U.S. industrial production, and employ about 10 million jobs or two-thirds of all U.S. manufacturing workers. These workers earn in excess of twice the wages of retail workers