80% Of Americans Say The Country Would Be Better Off With More Manufacturing Jobs—But Only 25% Want One Themselves

In speeches and rallies, President Donald Trump paints a spirited picture of a manufacturing comeback. He wants to fill up half-empty factories, bring jobs back from overseas and restore America's status as a “manufacturing superpower.”

But while Americans might love the idea of more factory jobs, most don't actually want to work in one.

A Nostalgic Vision Meets Modern Reality

Manufacturing once dominated the U.S. job market. In 1970, more than 25% of American workers held manufacturing jobs. Today, it's only around 8%, and many of those jobs look very different than they used to.

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Despite this drop, support for manufacturing remains high. A 2024 Cato Institute survey found that 80% of Americans believe the country would be better off with more manufacturing jobs. But when asked if they personally would prefer a factory job over their current work, only 25% agreed. About 73% said no, and just 2% of respondents actually work in manufacturing today.

"America would be better off if more people worked in manufacturing."

• 80% of Americans agree
• 20% disagree

"I would be better off if I worked in a factory."

• 25% of Americans agree
• 73% disagree
• 2% currently work in a factory

👉🏻 https://t.co/ycnHVZ1gT1 pic.twitter.com/4NXb0GLK5L

— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) April 13, 2025

So what gives? According to Carolyn Lee, executive director of the Manufacturing Institute, the jobs that still exist in modern factories are not what they used to be. “The majority of the jobs in the sector are not entry-level jobs that have no skills,” she told CNN. These roles now require everything from certifications to software and robotics skills.

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Tariffs Alone Won't Bring Back the Old Jobs

Trump believes sweeping tariffs will reverse the decades-long decline in factory work. In a recent social media post, he wrote, "I'm proud to be the president for the workers, not the outsourcers."

But many economists say the plan oversimplifies the issue. U.S. manufacturing output has actually increased over the last 40 years, even as jobs declined—thanks to automation and improved productivity. American factories now produce more high-value goods with fewer workers.

The push to onshore production also faces a major labor problem. There simply aren't enough Americans willing—or trained—to fill these roles. In February, the U.S. had 482,000 open manufacturing jobs, and projections show 1.9 million may go unfilled by 2033, according to Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute.

“The skills U.S. workers have are mismatched for manufacturing right now,” Olaf Groth, a professor at UC Berkeley, told CNN. “What we need to do is lift the majority of American labor from mid-skilled to high-skilled.”

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High Costs, Uncertain Results

Trump's supporters argue that tariffs will help revive old factory towns. But the costs are high. Tariffs raise the price of imported goods, which hits lower-income families the hardest. A note from JPMorgan Chase summed it up: "At the end of the day, tariffs are a tax on imports… the tax incidence nearly always falls on domestic sellers and consumers, not foreign producers."

Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs during his first term are a case in point. They raised costs for U.S. manufacturers and consumers alike. In 2018, the Peterson Institute estimated it cost about $650,000 to save a single job in the steel industry.

There's also no guarantee that jobs would come back at the scale envisioned. As Lee noted, new factories may open, but they'll need fewer people. Robots and machines will do most of the manual work. And many Americans just aren't interested. The Cato survey confirms that.

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