Editing Economy of the United States (section)

==Composition of economic sectors==
{{Main|Economy of the United States by sector}}
{{See also|Technological and industrial history of the United States|Manufacturing in the United States|Agriculture in the United States}}
[[File:Wheat harvest.jpg|thumb|A [[wheat]] harvest in [[Idaho]]]]

The United States is the world's second-largest manufacturer, with a 2013 industrial output of US$2.4{{spaces}}trillion. Its manufacturing output is greater than of Germany, France, India, and Brazil combined.<ref name="imt">{{cite web|title=Manufacturing Output by Country|url=http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/2013/03/14/china-widens-lead-as-worlds-largest-manufacturer/|publisher=imt|access-date=April 4, 2014|archive-date=July 27, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727123309/http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/2013/03/14/china-widens-lead-as-worlds-largest-manufacturer/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Its main industries include financials, information technology, petroleum, steel, automobiles, construction machinery, aerospace, agricultural machinery, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining and armaments.

The U.S. leads the world in [[List of aircraft manufacturers|airplane manufacturing]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/aviation_worldbook.html |title=World Book at NASA |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100731165241/http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/aviation_worldbook.html |archive-date=July 31, 2010 |access-date=March 5, 2022}}{{full citation needed|date=August 2010}}</ref> which represents a large portion of U.S. industrial output. American companies such as [[Boeing]], [[Cessna]] (see: [[Textron]]), [[Lockheed Martin]] (see: [[Skunk Works]]), and [[General Dynamics]] produce a majority of the world's civilian and military aircraft in factories across the United States.

The manufacturing sector of the U.S. economy has experienced substantial job losses over the past several years.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2007-04-20-4155011268_x.htm |title=Factory jobs: 3 million lost since 2000 |author=Martin Crutsinger |date=April 20, 2007 |agency=Associated Press |work=USA Today |access-date=March 4, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://prospect.org/article/cost-free-trade |title=The Cost of Free Trade |author=Michael Lind |date=December 1, 2011 |journal=The American Prospect |access-date=March 3, 2012}}</ref> In January 2004, the number of such jobs stood at 14.3 million, down by 3.0 million jobs (17.5%) since July 2000 and about 5.2 million since the historical peak in 1979. Employment in manufacturing was its lowest since July 1950.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=5078&type=0|title=What Accounts for the Decline in Manufacturing Employment?|date=February 18, 2004|access-date=August 10, 2017}}</ref> The number of steel workers fell from 500,000 in 1980 to 224,000 in 2000.<ref>"''[https://books.google.com/books?id=iOgfSDKecCcC&pg=PA4557 Congressional Record V. 148, Pt. 4, April 11, 2002 to April 24, 2002]''". [[United States Government Printing Office]].</ref>
[[File:Survival rate of US start-ups, 1977–2012.svg|thumb|Statistics released by the U.S. Census Bureau showed that, in 2008, the number of business 'deaths' began overtaking the number of business 'births' and that the trend continued at least through 2012.<ref>{{Cite book|title=UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030|publisher=UNESCO Publishing|year=2015|isbn=978-9231001291|location=Paris|page=141|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SDHwCgAAQBAJ}}</ref>]]
The U.S. produces approximately 18% of the world's manufacturing output, a share that has declined as other nations developed competitive manufacturing industries.<ref name="greyhill">{{cite web|title=Manufacturing Output by Country|url=http://greyhill.com/blog/2011/10/5/manufacturing-output-by-country.html|publisher=Greyhill Advisors|access-date=October 5, 2011}}</ref> The job loss during this continual volume growth is the result of multiple factors including increased productivity, trade, and secular economic trends.<ref>{{cite web|title=What Accounts for the Decline in Manufacturing Employment?|url=http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=5078&type=0|publisher=Congressional Budget Office|access-date=October 5, 2011}}</ref> In addition, growth in telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, aircraft, heavy machinery and other industries along with declines in low end, low skill industries such as clothing, toys, and other simple manufacturing have resulted in some U.S. jobs being more highly skilled and better paying. There has been much debate within the United States on whether the decline in manufacturing jobs are related to American unions, lower foreign wages, or both.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://prospect.org/article/back-china |title=Back from China? |author=Harold Meyerson |date=November 29, 2011 |journal=The American Prospect |access-date=March 4, 2012}}</ref><ref name="Pope_2012">{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-18/america-s-dirty-war-against-manufacturing-part-1-carl-pope.html |title=America's Dirty War Against Manufacturing: Part 1 |author=Carl Pope |author-link=Carl Pope (environmentalist) |date=January 18–20, 2012 |newspaper=Bloomberg |access-date=January 22, 2012}} [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-19/america-s-dirty-war-against-manufacturing-part-2-carl-pope.html Part 2]. [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-20/america-s-dirty-war-on-manufacturing-part-3-commentary-by-carl-pope.html Part 3].</ref><ref name="btb 22.01.2012">{{cite web |url=http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/hasnt-anyone-at-the-nyt-heard-of-exchange-rates |title=Hasn't Anyone at the NYT Heard of Exchange Rates? |author=Dean Baker |author-link=Dean Baker |date=January 22, 2012 |work=Beat the Press |publisher=Center for Economic and Policy Research |access-date=January 22, 2012 |archive-date=April 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403000757/http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/hasnt-anyone-at-the-nyt-heard-of-exchange-rates |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Products include [[Wheat production in the United States|wheat]], corn, other [[Food grain|grains]], fruits, vegetables, [[Cotton production in the United States|cotton]]; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products, [[forest products]], and fish.