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Enterprise Minnesota Magazine - October 2008

HELPING MANUFACTURERS GROW PROFITABLY

Benefits of Manufacturing Jobs

If you ever doubt the value of manufacturing jobs to your community, your state or your employees—don’t! Consider these recent statistics from Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development.

Wages. The average annual wage per manufacturing employee in Minnesota is $48,915, 19 percent higher than the average Minnesota private-sector employee. At $25.12 per hour, manufacturing jobs in Minnesota pay more than twice the average hourly wage in leisure and hospitality. The median wage of the trade, transportation and utilities industries is $18.68.

Benefits. The manufacturing sector, along with several others, is the most likely to offer medical and most other benefits. Manufacturers are also the most likely to offer fringe benefits to full-time workers. Nearly half of manufacturing employers offer a non-production bonus, and nearly a third offer a flexible medical spending account.

Retirement. Manufacturing is also one of the sectors most likely to have a defined retirement plan for both full-time and part-time workers. On average across all industries, only one out of every five part-time workers is offered a retirement plan.

Globally competitive. Manufactured goods accounted for 63 percent of the $24.2 billion in exports from Minnesota in 2006. In the fourth quarter of 2007, state-manufactured exports reached a record high of $4.3 billion. Total exports in the first quarter of 2008 are nearly $4.2 billion, an 8.5 percent increase from first quarter 2007.

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