U.S. Manufacturing Jobs 2026: Employment, Wages and Fastest-Growing States
Manufacturing remains one of the largest and best-paid industrial sectors in the United States. In August 2026, U.S. manufacturers employed approximately 12.64 million workers, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Manufacturing employment increased by about 16,000 jobs during August, showing that factories continue to offer opportunities even as automation, artificial intelligence and advanced robotics reshape the industry.
How many manufacturing jobs are there in the U.S.?
The BLS reported 12.638 million manufacturing employees in August 2026.
Manufacturing also remains geographically concentrated. California, Texas, Ohio and Michigan together account for millions of factory jobs, while several smaller states are experiencing faster percentage growth.
Latest state-level BLS data, currently available through July 2026, show approximately 1.20 million manufacturing jobs in California, 980,000 in Texas and nearly 689,000 in Ohio.
How much do manufacturing workers earn in 2026?
Average hourly earnings for all manufacturing employees reached $36.92 in August 2026, compared with $35.58 a year earlier.
Average weekly earnings reached approximately $1,495.26. Production and nonsupervisory manufacturing workers earned an average $30.37 per hour and $1,266.43 per week.
The figures illustrate why manufacturing continues to compete for workers in skilled trades, engineering, maintenance, automation and advanced production.
Which states are adding manufacturing jobs fastest?
The biggest manufacturing states are not necessarily the fastest-growing.
BLS year-over-year data for July 2026 show Connecticut and Idaho increasing manufacturing employment by approximately 2.9%, while Rhode Island grew about 2.8%.
Louisiana, Minnesota and Ohio were around 2.3% higher year over year, while South Carolina and Washington posted growth of roughly 2.2%.
At the same time, some major manufacturing markets experienced declines, demonstrating how investment is shifting between regions and industries.
Where are manufacturing jobs headed?
The U.S. factory workforce is changing rather than disappearing. Traditional production jobs increasingly coexist with positions involving robotics, CNC equipment, semiconductors, industrial software, maintenance, data analysis and artificial intelligence.
For workers, that means technical skills are becoming increasingly valuable. For manufacturers, access to skilled labor may become as important as access to energy, logistics and industrial real estate.
U.S. manufacturing employed approximately 12.64 million workers in August 2026, with average hourly earnings of $36.92. Connecticut and Idaho were among the fastest-growing states for manufacturing employment in the latest year-over-year state data.