Fewer Factory Workers Since 1982, U.S. Says

The number of Americans manufacturing things for a living has fallen in this decade, although such areas as transportation equipment, plastics and furniture are bucking the trend, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday.

Overall, employment in manufacturing businesses fell by 731,900 between 1982 and 1986, the bureau said.

That represented a decline of 4%, to 17.09 million workers, according to preliminary statistics from the 1986 Annual Survey of Manufacturers.

Imports Blamed

More recently, however, manufacturing employment has been increasing as the devalued dollar boosts sale of U.S. goods abroad. According to the Labor Department, manufacturing jobs rose by 400,000 between June, 1987, and March, 1988, a period not covered by the Census Bureau’s survey.

Between 1982 and 1986, the hardest-hit sector was machinery manufacturing, which lost 325,700 jobs. Imports were a major reason for the 15% decline to 1.86 million employees in businesses making heavy industrial and construction machinery, said Kenneth Hansen, a Census Bureau analyst.

Another area affected by imported products in recent years--apparel and textile products--saw employment fall 14% to 1.02 million in 1986. That represented a loss of 172,500 jobs, the report said.

Primary metal industries also suffered, losing 164,900 jobs to fall to a total of 689,200 in 1986.

Manufacture of leather goods saw a loss of 70,000 jobs, representing a 35% decline to 1986 employment of 129,800.

Boost in Electronics

Tobacco products suffered a 20% job loss between 1982 and 1986, with employment falling to 46,100 in the continuation of a 20-year trend.

On the positive side, companies making transportation equipment added 173,600 workers over the period, an 11% increase to 1.77 million.

Transportation equipment is a wide-ranging field including aircraft, trucks and trailers, automobiles, ships, motor homes and even some defense equipment such as missiles, Hansen said.

Computer products have helped boost employment in electronic industries slightly, the study showed. That area employed 1.94 million people in 1986, up 26,900 from 1982.

Printing and publishing added 84,400 people over the period and wood products and furniture-making also showed growth.

Nationally, while total employment in manufacturing fell between 1982 and 1986, payroll was up from $204.5 billion to $231.7 billion.

MANUFACTURING: A DROP IN EMPLOYMENT

Total employment in manufacturing nationally fell by 731,900 jobs to 17,086,200 between 1982 and 1986.

Industry Employment in 1986 Chg. from 1982 Transportation equipment 1,769,500 +173,600 Printing & publishing 1,376,200 +84,400 Rubber & plastic products 741,300 +59,600 Lumber & wood products 619,500 +43,100 Furniture & fixtures 466,700 +30,700 Electronic & electric equipment 1,941,400 +26,900 Paper & related products 602,600 -3,000 Tobacco products 46,100 -11,800 Stone, clay & glass products 514,100 -17,400 Petroleum & coal products 124,500 -27,100 Instruments & related products 585,400 -38,200 Fabricated metal products 1,419,500 -40,200 Misc. manufacturing 326,100 -56,500 Leather & leather products 129,800 -70,000 Chemicals & related products 801,600 -71,000 Textile mill products 644,300 -73,100 Food & related products 1,408,900 -78,800 Primary metal industries 689,200 -164,900 Apparel & related products 1,016,500 -172,500 Non-electrical machinery 1,863,000 -325,700

Source: U.S. Census Bureau