Summary of Findings

In 1992, 339.4 thousand persons were employed in Washington's manufacturing
establishments. This figure represented an increase of 10 percent from the
1987 figure of 309.7 thousand workers.

The total value added by manufacture for the State amounted to $27.4
billion in 1992. This figure, along with all dollar figures in this report,
are at prices current for the year specified and, therefore, are unadjusted
for changes in price levels. Consequently, when making comparisons to prior
years, users should take into consideration the inflation that has
occurred.

In the State, the leading industry groups ranked by employment were
transportation equipment, food and kindred products, lumber and wood
products, and printing and publishing. These same industry groups were the
leaders in 1987.

The leading counties in the State ranked by employment were King,
Snohomish, Pierce, and Spokane. They accounted for approximately 70 percent
of the State's 1992 manufacturing employment. These same counties were the
leaders in 1987 when they also accounted for approximately 70 percent of
the State's employment.

Single-establishment companies with up to 20 employees (cutoff varied by
industry) were excluded from the mail portion of the census. The data for
these establishments (and a small number of larger establishments whose
reports were not received at the time the data were tabulated) were
obtained from administrative records of other agencies or developed from
industry averages. For this State, these establishments accounted for 5
percent of the total value of shipments.