Recent trends in U.S. and Canadian nonmetropolitan manufacturing

Abstract

During the 1960s and 1970s, growth in manufacturing contributed greatly to the economic well-being of nonmetropolitan areas in the U.S. and Canada. The recession of the early 1980s, however, led to absolute and relative declines in nonmetro areas on both sides of the border, and nearly every state and province experienced employment declines in nonmetro manufacturing. Impacts were greatest in the Northwest and Midwest in the U.S. and in the Atlantic provinces, Quebec and British Columbia in Canada. Job losses were especially significant in several states and provinces where nonmetro areas accounted for a large proportion of total manufacturing employment. This paper examines recent changes in nonmetro manufacturing in the two nations and discusses factors contributing to the changes.