Attention: Business Editors
News Release: August 2, 2004

While it may have taken its lumps in recent years, New Jersey’s manufacturing sector is still a vibrant part of New Jersey’s economy, creating jobs and supporting other industries, according to a new study released today by the NJ Policy Research Organization (NJPRO) Foundation.

“A lot of people just assume that competition from low-cost states in the South has dealt manufacturing a terrible blow in New Jersey,” NJPRO Executive Director Jim Sinclair said. “But when you look at the facts, manufacturing continues to play a vital role in our economy. This should be a wake-up call to our political leaders—manufacturing is worth fighting for.”

NJPRO is the public policy research affiliate of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA), which recently kicked off its Manufacturing Counts! campaign. The NJPRO study set out to detail the facts about manufacturing’s role in New Jersey’s economy.

As explained in the NJPRO paper entitled Why Manufacturing Counts in New Jersey, manufacturers in this state employ 345,000 production workers, support another 184,000 jobs in other industries, and pay an average annual wage of $53,028, which is $9,316 more than the average wage paid by all private-sector employers in New Jersey.

What’s more, manufacturers generated $42 billion in economic output in 2001, representing 12 percent of the New Jersey’s Gross State Product. In global trade, manufacturing dominates with 90 percent of all New Jersey exports—$15.3 billion worth in 2003. Manufacturing also uses more intermediate goods and services than other industries, generating an additional $1.43 in economic output for every $1 worth of final product.

In its analysis, NJPRO concluded that most manufacturing jobs were located in the northeast corner of the State (Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic, and Union Counties), where manufacturers provided more than 151,000 jobs.

According to the NJ Department of Labor, most manufacturing employment is in pharmaceuticals and medical products with 40,000 jobs, followed by chemical manufacturing (34,200), computer and electronic products (32,300) and food products (31,700).

While it remains an important part of the State’s economy, manufacturing’s share of overall employment has been steadily slipping. In the most recent recession (2001-2003), for example, the state lost 74,000 manufacturing jobs.

Reporters interested in learning more about the Manufacturing Counts! campaign or seeking interviews with local manufacturers should contact at 609-393-7707, ext. 227.