Table 4
Change in Manufacturing Employment, 1998
Rank	State	Amt.		Rank	State	Amt.
1	Iowa	2.9%		27	Michigan	-0.3%
2	Montana	2.4%		28	Wisconsin	-0.4%
3	Vermont	2.3%		29	West Virginia	-0.4%
4	Arizona	2.0%		30	Louisiana	-0.5%
5	Kansas	1.5%		31	Ohio	-0.8%
6	Delaware	1.5%		32	Illinois	-0.9%
7	Alaska	1.2%		33	Connecticut	-1.0%
8	South Dakota	1.2%		34	Pennsylvania	-1.0%
9	Georgia	1.2%		35	Maryland	-1.1%
10	Florida	0.9%		36	NEW YORK	-1.2%
11	Indiana	0.9%		37	Washington	-1.4%
12	Mississippi	0.7%		38	Colorado	-1.5%
13	Nevada	0.7%		39	Alabama	-1.7%
14	Idaho	0.7%		40	North Carolina	-1.7%
15	Oklahoma	0.6%		41	Virginia	-1.9%
16	Minnesota	0.5%		42	New Jersey	-2.0%
17	North Dakota	0.4%		43	Tennessee	-2.1%
18	California	0.3%		44	Hawaii	-2.4%
19	South Carolina	0.2%		45	New Hampshire	-2.5%
20	Texas	0.2%		46	Oregon	-2.5%
21	Nebraska	0.1%		47	Rhode Island	-2.5%
22	Kentucky	0.0%		48	Massachusetts	-3.1%
23	Missouri	0.0%		49	Maine	-3.5%
24	Wyoming	0.0%		50	New Mexico	-5.0%
25	Arkansas	-0.0%
26	Utah	-0.2%		U.S. average		-1.2%
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, December 1997-December 1998
New York's manufacturing sector has improved relative to the nation's; our growth ranked 41st among the states in 1997 and 48th for 1989-94.