A recipe for growth: food and beverage manufacturing projected to expand through 2034

Food and beverage manufacturing is projected to add the most jobs of any manufacturing industry over the 2024–34 decade. Employment in food and beverage manufacturing grew from about 1.7 million in 2014 to about 2.1 million in 2024 and is projected to increase to over 2.2 million in 2034. Food and beverage manufacturing employed 16 percent of all manufacturing workers in 2024, the largest employment among the 20 manufacturing industries.

Of the 10 industries within food and beverage manufacturing, beverage manufacturing is expected to add the most new jobs (37,800) by 2034. Animal slaughtering and processing is projected to have the second largest job increase (35,400). In contrast, employment in fruit and vegetable preserving and specialty food manufacturing (−1,200), seafood product preparation and packaging (−800), and grain and oilseed milling (+300) are expected to remain little changed over the 2024–34 decade.

These data are from the Employment Projections program and are not seasonally adjusted. To learn more, see "Employment Projections — 2024–2034." Hungry for more? Check out the recent Monthly Labor Review article, "Feeding the economy: employment growth in food and beverage manufacturing expected to continue through the 2024–34 decade." Food and beverage manufacturing encompasses the transformation of raw materials into intermediate or final products for human and animal consumption, and may include the processes of cooking, freezing, preservation, and packing. Raw materials primarily include agricultural products, such as crops and livestock.