Economy
Advanced Industries Still Rule the U.S. Economy—But It's an Advantage That's Slipping
These high-tech sectors are also more geographically concentrated than they were a decade ago.
The so-called "advanced industries"—we’re talking tech-adjacent sectors like aerospace, computing, oil and gas extraction and communications equipment manufacturing —are critical to national competitiveness. But according to a new Brookings Institution report, while the U.S. remains highly productive in these fields, its long-held advantage in them may be slipping.
The advanced industries identified in the report (see table below*) include tech-driven manufacturing (pharmaceuticals, car-making, chemicals, etc.), energy (metal ore mining and gas extraction) and service (management and scientific consulting, architecture, software, etc.) industries.