The Central Valley is mostly known as an agriculture center, so it may surprise you that Merced County last year topped the nation with the highest growth rate in manufacturing sector employment.
Of the fastest growing U.S. manufacturing metro areas in 2014, two-thirds increased their manufacturing job base, but Merced grew the fastest, followed by Danville, Illinois and Flint, Michigan
Merced County’s increase of 2,200 manufacturing jobs from January 2014 to January 2015 was 26.2 percent, far outstripping second-place Danville’s 14.9 percent.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Merced County had 8,400 manufacturing jobs in January 2014. By January 2015, those jobs increased to 10,600 in a total workforce of 116,000.
View Article