Mike Froman Is Wrong Again: Manufacturing Jobs Are Among America’s Best Jobs

While hosting Ambassador Greer, the former USTR manipulated pay data to claim that services jobs had overtaken manufacturing

This week, Council on Foreign Relations President Mike Froman hosted U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer for an on-stage discussion. During the conversation, Froman — who served as USTR from 2013 to 2017, where he championed further globalization of the American economy and prioritized the overseas operating conditions of the largest multinationals — attempted to “correct” Ambassador Greer when he asserted that manufacturing jobs paid more than services jobs. Froman claimed that this was no longer true, and that services jobs had recently overtaken manufacturing jobs in pay.

But an intellectually honest review of the full Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data shows that Froman is wrong.

Froman’s claim depends on cherry-picking the narrowest favorable wage measure: services pay only 3% more per hour than manufacturing when using average hourly earnings for all employees — a measure inflated by executives and high-paying sectors like utilities. Remove utilities alone, and manufacturing moves ahead, paying 2% more per hour than the remaining service-providing sectors.

And hourly wages are only one measure. Weekly earnings show what workers actually earn over the course of a job, and on that measure manufacturing clearly leads, paying 20% more than services and 15% more than the private-sector average.

Manufacturing Jobs Pay More

Manufacturing jobs have 20% higher average weekly earnings than service-providing jobs.

Manufacturing workers average $1,481.87 in weekly earnings.
That is 15% higher than the total private-sector average of $1,283.16.
The average service-providing job pays $1,234.38 per week.

Cherry-Picking the Data

Pundits like Michael Froman often rely on the one wage measure where services appear to come out ahead: average hourly earnings for all employees. That measure includes executives, managers, and high-paid white-collar workers, making it a poor proxy for the ordinary service-sector job most Americans have in mind.
Even on that narrow measure, the service-sector advantage is thin. Total private service-providing jobs pay only 3% more per hour than manufacturing jobs. But the service-providing category includes high-paying sectors such as utilities, information, finance, and professional services, which are very different from retail, hospitality, food service, and other common service jobs.
Remove utilities alone, and the comparison reverses: manufacturing pays 2% more in average hourly earnings than the remaining service-providing sectors.
More importantly, hourly pay is only one measure. Weekly earnings show what workers actually earn over the course of a job, and manufacturing clearly leads on that measure. By the broader measures that matter most to working families — weekly pay, benefits, stability, non-college career pathways, and job creation across the economy — manufacturing remains one of America’s strongest job sectors.

Manufacturing Jobs Create More Jobs Across the Economy

Manufacturing jobs also have among the highest employment multiplier effects of all industries.

Every 100 durable manufacturing jobs support 744 indirect jobs.
Every 100 nondurable manufacturing jobs support 514 indirect jobs.
For durable manufacturing, that includes 289 supplier jobs and 455 induced jobs supported by worker spending and tax revenue.

Major industry group	Direct jobs	Supplier jobs	Induced jobs	Total indirect jobs
Durable manufacturing	100	289.1	454.9	744.1
Information	100	252	321.1	573.1
Nondurable manufacturing	100	184.8	329.5	514.3
Professional, scientific, and technical services	100	142.1	276.2	418.3
Mining	100	224	166	390
Finance and insurance	100	149.7	214.7	364.4
Transportation and warehousing	100	112.8	163.3	276
Wholesale trade	100	107.3	128	235.3
Construction	100	88	138.1	226.1
Health care and social assistance	100	69.4	136.2	205.6
Accommodation and food services	100	53.8	107.4	161.2
Retail trade	100	46.7	75.4	122.1

Source: Economic Policy Institute: Employment multipliers for the U.S. economy

Durable manufacturing has a stronger employment multiplier because each factory job supports a wide supplier network.

Making cars, machinery, appliances, metals, or equipment requires parts suppliers, logistics firms, maintenance crews, engineers, energy providers, and business services.
When durable manufacturing expands, job growth spreads beyond the factory floor into the broader industrial supply chain.

Durable manufacturing has a stronger employment multiplier because each factory job supports a wide supplier network.

It creates twice as many indirect jobs as finance and insurance.
It creates 3.6 times as many indirect jobs as health care and social assistance.
It also exceeds information, professional services, construction, retail, and hospitality.

Manufacturing Jobs Offer Greater Stability and Economic Value

Manufacturing jobs are more stable: Manufacturing workers have median job tenure of 4.9 years, compared with 3.5 years for private-sector workers overall. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Manufacturing jobs provide stronger benefits: Employer-paid benefits averaged $15.76 per hour in manufacturing, compared with $13.79 for private industry overall and $13.42 for service-providing industries. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Manufacturing offers a strong alternative to the four-year college track: Among workers without a four-year degree, manufacturing workers earn $150 more per week than workers in other industries, making manufacturing one of the strongest middle-class pathways for non-college workers. (Georgetown University)
Manufacturing anchors America’s innovation base: U.S. manufacturing industries performed $394 billion in domestic business R&D in 2023, accounting for 55% of all domestic business R&D. (National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics)

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