Figure 3: Manufacturing Employment Comparison

In thousands of workers

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1960–1990 Decennial Census microdata use the 1990 industry codes produced by IPUMS, while the 2000–2023 ACS use NAICS industry codes. To create a consistent time series, manufacturing employment levels from 1960 to 1990 are estimated by backcasting the NAICS-based 2000 manufacturing employment count using growth rates derived from IPUMS’ 1990 industry codes.

Source: BLS, Census, IPUMS USA