Op-Ed in Boston Business Journal: Lighting the Future of U.S. Manufacturing

December 25, 2015

By: Congressman Seth Moulton (D-MA)

Since industrial revolution, manufacturing in the United States has long signified innovation, opportunity and a strong middle class. Today, our nation’s manufacturing sector provides an estimated 18 million jobs, accounts for roughly 12 percent of GDP and provides a mean annual income of roughly $75,000 per worker, nearly $15,000 higher than average wages in other industries.

Right here in the commonwealth, manufacturing makes up roughly 10 percent of the economy and employs an estimated 250,000 people. That’s 7 percent of the state’s workforce. Impressively, exports in manufactured goods from Massachusetts have grown more than 16 percent between 2009 and 2014. While that’s a good start, we’re way behind where we once were, and there’s more we can do.