Economics and Statistics Administration

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Commerce John Bryson issued the following statement today on the release of the April 2012 U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services report by the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis. U.S. goods and services exports in April 2012 were down 0.8 percent from March 2012 to reach $182.9 billion. 

U.S. goods and services exports year-to-date through the first four months of 2012 were up 6.0 percent or $41.4 billion from the same period of 2011 to reach $725.8 billion. 

Manufacturing jobs becoming more skilled and heavily reliant on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. 

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Executive Summary

The role of the manufacturing sector in the U.S. economy is more prominent than is suggested solely by its output or number of workers. It is a cornerstone of innovation in our economy: manufacturing firms fund most domestic corporate research and development (R&D), and the resulting innovations and productivity growth improve our standard of living.  Manufacturing also drives U.S. exports and is crucial for a strong national defense.

Last year, ESA issued a series of reports on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) employment.  Newer data are now available and we updated some key results from these reports. Overall, the new data reaffirm the importance of STEM jobs to the U.S.