Higher wages associated with an industry that employs 10 percent

of Connecticut workers

Full-time manufacturing workers in Connecticut can expect to make about $6,100 more a year than those in other occupations, according to a study released this week by the Economic Policy Institute.

Titled "The Manufacturing Footprint and the Importance of U.S. Manufacturing Jobs," the study found that the state's manufacturing workers earn an average of $20.83 an hour, while the average pay outside the industry is only $17.98 an hour.

In the 2nd Congressional District, which includes New London County, an estimated 42,200 jobs were in the manufacturing field, representing 12.7 of those employed. These statistics rank the region as No. 73 nationally among more than 400 districts in terms of its reliance on manufacturing jobs.

Connecticut is the 20th-ranked state nationwide in terms of the share of jobs that involve manufacturing. Nearly 10 percent of statewide jobs are devoted to manufacturing work, or a total of 163,800, the study said.

"This report makes clear just how crucial the manufacturing sector is to the nation's economy," Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, said in a statement. "Manufacturing's wage premium is a clear path to the middle class. But to bring those jobs back we must tackle the enormous U.S. goods trade deficit, and make a serious, long-term investment in transportation infrastructure."

The report pointed out that job growth in the manufacturing sector has been on the wane nationwide, with 5.7 million jobs having been lost between 1998 and 2013. Losses were blamed on growing trade deficits and weak economic recovery after the Great Recession.

Nationwide in 2013, manufacturing accounted for 8.8 percent of U.S. jobs, the report said, and employed a large number of workers without college degrees. Yet the manufacturing work typically paid $1.78 more an hour than workers of the same education were getting in other jobs.

"Full-time manufacturing jobs for non-college degree workers pay a wage premium of more than $3,700 annually over jobs in other economic sectors and have a significant positive impact on the U.S. economy," a summary of the report said.

If employment multiples are factored in - indirect jobs created by wages - manufacturing accounts for more than one-fifth of U.S. employment, according to the report.

l.howard@theday.com

Twitter: @KingstonLeeHow