Manufacturing Output and Firms
Total Manufacturing Output ($billions, 2018)
$19.85
(Percent share of total gross state product)
15.50%
Manufacturing Firms in Arkansas (2017)
2,264
Arkansas Manufacturing Facts
Manufacturers in Arkansas account for 15.50% of the total output in the state, employing 12.81% of the workforce. Total output from manufacturing was $19.85 billion in 2018. In addition, there were an average of 164,000 manufacturing employees in Arkansas in 2019, with an average annual compensation of $59,687.88 in 2018.
Employment and Compensation
Manufacturing Employment (2019)
164,000
(Percent share of nonfarm employment)
12.81%
Average Annual Compensation (Manufacturing, 2018)
$59,687.88
(Nonfarm Businesses, 2018)
$41,159.42
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Census Bureau
Figure 1
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Figure 3
Arkansas Export Facts
Manufacturers help to drive Arkansas’s economy, with $5.73 billion in manufactured goods exports in 2019. That same year, $2.66 billion in exports was with our free trade agreement (FTA) partners. This helps create jobs in the state, and 14.10% of its employment stemmed from exports in 2011. Small businesses comprised 80.00% percent of all exporters in Arkansas.
Manufacturing Exports
Manufactured Goods Exports ($billions, 2019)
$5.73
(Percent share of total goods exports)
92.00%
Growth in Manufactured Goods Exports (2010–2019)
21.74%
U.S. Jobs Supported by Goods Exports (2016)
26,144
Employment from Manufacturing Exports (Export share of manufacturing jobs, 2011)
14.10%
Small Business Share of Total Exporters (2015)
80.00%
Manufactured Goods to Free Trade Agreement Partners ($billions, 2019)
$2.66
(Percent of total exports, 2019)
46.44%
Total Manufactured Goods Exports to Canada and Mexico (USMCA, 2019)
$1.84
Top Five Export Markets (Percent of total manufactured goods exports, 2019)
32.14%
Canada
25.95%
France
12.38%
Mexico
10.18%
Japan
6.14%
China
3.23%
Sources: International Trade Administration, U.S. Census Bureau
Figure 4
Additional Trade Facts
- The 20 U.S. FTA partners purchased 48.3% ($659.49 billion) of U.S. manufactured goods exports in 2019 – even though these countries represent only six percent of the world’s population and 10 percent of GDP.
- FTA countries: Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Jordan, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Oman, Panama, Peru, Singapore and South Korea.