Four industries accounted for nearly half of estimated export employment in manufacturing in 1996. They were, in order of importance, industrial machinery and computer equipment, electronic equipment, fabricated metals, and transportation equipment. The professors also studied the industries' relative importance as measured by employment, instead of sales. Transportation equipment, which is typically the biggest industry according to sales figures, ranks fourth in terms of employment. Davidson and Kang said their study is important because existing rules of thumb about the impact of exporting on area workforces no longer can be considered reliable.
States often differ from how the nation and other states are performing.
Also, the really useful information has to be reported at the local level. But here is where productivity becomes an issue. We just don't find that number's right.