The US Census Bureau is marking the 15th anniversary of Manufacturing Day on 2 October with a week of manufacturing data and analysis, highlighting the sector’s contribution to the US economy and the role of manufacturing careers.
According to the Census Bureau’s 2024 Annual Integrated Economic Survey, US manufacturing generated US$7 trillion in total revenue. The sector was also the country’s fifth-largest employer based on 2023 County Business Patterns data.
The Census Bureau said the annual event provides an opportunity to highlight the “benefits and potential of modern manufacturing” while encouraging greater interest in manufacturing careers.
According to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization’s (UNIDO) World Manufacturing Production and Trade Report – Q1 2026, global manufacturing production increased 1.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of 2026, following relatively subdued growth during 2025. Manufacturing exports increased 3.5 per cent over the same period.
Higher-technology manufacturing continued to outperform lower-technology industries, with production of higher-tech goods increasing 1.9 per cent and exports rising 4.7 per cent during the quarter.
UNIDO said Asia and the Pacific recorded the strongest regional manufacturing production growth in the first quarter, while Europe was the only region to record a significant decline.
The organisation has also identified wider structural changes affecting manufacturing, including artificial intelligence, the green transition, shifting global value chains and demographic change.
Its 2026 Industrial Development Report examines how these trends are reshaping industrialisation and argues that developing economies have opportunities to build manufacturing capacity in areas including clean energy, electric mobility, digital technologies and agroprocessing.
The World Economic Forum said in June that 63 per cent of employers identify skills gaps as the biggest barrier to business transformation, while 86 per cent expect AI and information-processing technologies to transform their businesses by 2030.
Its new Human-Machine Collaboration Framework, covering more than 80 industrial jobs across manufacturing and supply-chain functions, found that three-quarters of industrial jobs are expected to evolve over the next decade.
The analysis also found that about 40 per cent of future industrial skills are expected to be new or emerging, with greater demand for capabilities involving machine oversight, judgement and governance of autonomous systems.
Australia is reportedly facing some of the same workforce and industrial changes. Jobs and Skills Australia data shows that 868,100 people were employed in manufacturing as of February 2026, representing 5.9 per cent of Australia’s workforce. Employment in the industry fell by 8,700 people, or 1 per cent, over the previous year.
The Australian manufacturing workforce has also changed over the longer term. Jobs and Skills Australia data shows employment in the industry has fallen over the 20 years to February 2026, while structural steel and welding trades workers, production managers, metal fitters and machinists and product assemblers remain among the industry’s largest employing occupations.
The workforce shift comes as manufacturers globally invest in technologies designed to increase productivity and respond to changing supply chains.
UNIDO reported that global manufacturing exports continued to be supported by higher-technology goods in 2025, while its 2026 industrial development research identified digitalisation and AI, alongside the green transition and changing value chains, as major forces shaping future industrial production.
At the same time, UNIDO has pointed to geopolitical tensions, tariff measures, supply-chain disruptions and inflationary pressures as continuing challenges for manufacturers.
