Michigan is a national leader in attracting jobs and inbound foreign direct investment (FDI) from global companies, according to a new report by the Global Business Alliance.
The report says that 317,000 workers in Michigan, including 202,300 manufacturing workers — ranking the state third among all U.S. states — are employed by more than 1,100 foreign-headquartered companies with plants, offices, and other facilities in the state.
Additionally, 8.2 percent of all private sector workers in Michigan are employed by global companies — the fourth-highest share out of all 50 states.
Michigan also boasts one of the fastest-growing FDI workforces in the country, according to the report. From 2014 to 2019, the number of Michiganders employed by global companies investing in the U.S. grew by 33 percent, making Michigan the No. 4 state in the nation.
“Michigan’s status as a manufacturing powerhouse is hardly new,” says Nancy McLernon, CEO of the Global Business Alliance. “What’s changing, though, is the increasing role of global companies and global investment in fueling this manufacturing dominance. In 2019, for the first time ever, global automakers employed the majority of U.S. manufacturing workers in the automotive sector.
“Nationally, global companies pay their American workers 18 percent more than the U.S. average.”
