Profile: Industry Trends
Please note, most of these updates are for the time period of 2009-2019. Therefore, the effects of the COVID pandemic and economic recession are not generally addressed. Trends specific to 2020 will be addressed in the next profile update.
The Detroit region employs over 2.3 million people in industries spread across 11 counties.
The primary industries in the Detroit region are:
- Trade, Transportation, & Utilities – 18% of employment
- Professional and Business Services – 18%
- Health Services and Private Education – 16%
- Manufacturing – 12%
- Government – 12%
Between 2009 and 2019, all Detroit industrial sectors except Government and Information experienced growth. The fastest growing sectors by employment during this 10-year period were Construction (+43.6% growth), Manufacturing (+36.5%), and Professional and Business Services (+30.6%).
The Construction, Manufacturing, and Professional and Business Services sectors in the Detroit region grew faster than the national industry trends of +25.2%, +8.2%, and 28.7% respectively.
Most employment in the Detroit region is concentrated across four major counties, though the combined employment in less dense counties is also significant. Oakland County leads with 746,103 jobs and 32% of regional employment. Wayne County nearly equals Oakland County with its 734,072 jobs and 30% of regional employment. The next largest counties by employment are Macomb County with 14% of regional jobs and Washtenaw County with 9%.
Employment declined in Lenawee county between 2009 and 2019. These job losses were compensated by employment growth in the remaining 10 countries. By growth rate, employment gains were greatest in Livingston County (+51.2%), Macomb County (+22.7%), Oakland County (+21.9%), and Washtenaw County (+20.6%). However, Oakland County experienced the largest increase in raw employment by adding over 133,848 jobs.
