--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-35/puzzles-and-surprises-in-employment-and-productivity-in-u-s-manufacturing-after-the-great-recession/" title: "Puzzles and Surprises in Employment and Productivity in U.S. Manufacturing After the Great Recession" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T07:52:39+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T07:52:39+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Fall 2018" ipm_keyword: - "computers" - "employment" - "Great Recession" - "industry-level" - "MIT" - "NAICS 334" - "output" - "productivity" - "Schmalensee" - "U.S. manufacturing" ipm_research_theme: - "Sectoral and firm-level dynamics" ipm_country_focus: - "United States" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Puzzles and Surprises in Employment and Productivity in U.S. Manufacturing After the Great Recession Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-35/puzzles-and-surprises-in-employment-and-productivity-in-u-s-manufacturing-after-the-great-recession/ # Puzzles and Surprises in Employment and Productivity in U.S. Manufacturing After the Great Recession [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-35-1-Schmalensee.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Schmalensee, Richard. 2018. “Puzzles and Surprises in Employment and Productivity in U.S. Manufacturing After the Great Recession.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 35 (Fall 2018): 5–27. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-35/puzzles-and-surprises-in-employment-and-productivity-in-u-s-manufacturing-after-the-great-recession/ ## Author: - Richard Schmalensee Massachusetts Institute of Technology ## IPM Issue 35 Fall 2018 pp. 5–27 ## Related IPM articles [The Relationship between Efficiencies Defenses for Mergers and TFP Growth Robin Shaban Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 82–102](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/the-relationship-between-efficiencies-defenses-for-mergers-and-tfp-growth/) [Adult Skills and Productivity: New Evidence from PIAAC 2023 Dan Andrews, Balázs Égert, Christine de La Maisonneuve Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 41–63](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/adult-skills-and-productivity-new-evidence-from-piaac-2023/) [The Potential Impact of Pro-competitive Regulatory Reforms on Productivity and Growth in Canada Gilbert Cette, Jimmy Lopez, Giuseppe Nicoletti, Océane Vernerey Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 3–40](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/the-potential-impact-of-pro-competitive-regulatory-reforms-on-productivity-and-growth-in-canada/) [Appendix: UK Productivity Growth Rates Across Data Vintages and Studies Josh Martin Spring 2025 | IPM Issue 48 | pp. 65–73](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-48/appendix-uk-productivity-growth-rates-across-data-vintages-and-studies/) [Opportunities and Risks of Artificial Intelligence for Productivity Francesco Filippucci, Peter Gal, Katharina Laengle, Matthias Schief, Filiz Unsal Spring 2025 | IPM Issue 48 | pp. 1–26](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-48/opportunities-and-risks-of-artificial-intelligence-for-productivity/) [Using Ecosystem Accounting to Integrate the Environment in Measures of Multifactor Productivity Carl Obst Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 87–108](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/using-ecosystem-accounting-to-integrate-the-environment-in-measures-of-multifactor-productivity/) [Eroding Natural Capital: An Alternative Explanation for the Secular Decline in Productivity Growth Christina Caron Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 109–147](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/eroding-natural-capital-an-alternative-explanation-for-the-secular-decline-in-productivity-growth/) [Climate Change and Productivity — An Exploration Dirk Pilat Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 54–86](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/climate-change-and-productivity-an-exploration/) [How Does Industrial Policy Impact Output, Hours and Productivity? The Canadian Experience Tim Sargent Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 39–53](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/how-does-industrial-policy-impact-output-hours-and-productivity-the-canadian-experience/) [Could Domestic Industrial Policies, Even With Global Fragmentation, Revive Productivity? Catherine Mann Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 3–19](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/could-domestic-industrial-policies-even-with-global-fragmentation-revive-productivity/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn Though U.S. manufacturing output recovered more slowly from the Great Recession than historical experience would have predicted, manufacturing employment, which peaked in 1979, grew between 2010 and 2017. This was the second-longest period of manufacturing employment growth in the entire postwar period. Bien que la production manufacturière américaine se soit redressée plus lentement de la Grande Récession que ne l’aurait prédit l’expérience historique, l’emploi manufacturier, qui avait atteint son sommet en 1979, a augmenté entre 2010 et 2017. Il s’agissait de la deuxième plus longue période de croissance de l’emploi manufacturier dans toute la période d’après-guerre. Cet article documente ces surprises et énigmes dans l’emploi et la productivité du secteur manufacturier américain après la Grande Récession, examinant les facteurs structurels et cycliques à l’origine de ces développements inattendus. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-35-1-Schmalensee.pdf)