Industry Information

  • U.S. jewelry manufacturers shipped $8.3 billion worth of goods in 2007, the latest statistics available. That’s comparable in value to U.S. output of railroad rolling stock. (U.S. Census Bureau)
  • Jewelry manufacturing employs 33,000 people, half of them self-employed. The vast majority of companies in the industry are by definition small businesses. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
  • About 21,000 jobs are in jewelry production.
  • Tens of thousands of related companies and jobs are affected by the jewelry industry’s fate: Precious metals refiners and suppliers, manufacturing equipment makers, gem suppliers, software and other high-tech companies involved in CAD/CAM and laser welding, wholesalers, retailers.
  • MJSA members are a major source of jobs in New York (16,000), Rhode Island (5,000), and Massachusetts (4,000).
  • In the Los Angeles Jewelry District, an estimated 9,000 people make their living in jewelry manufacturing (state statistics).
  • U.S. precious metal jewelry exports totaled $4.7 billion in 2008, up 3.2 percent from 2007 and up eightfold from 1997. U.S. exports have increased in 10 of the last 11 years. The leading destinations in 2008 were Hong Kong, Japan, Netherland Antilles, Switzerland, and Great Britain. (U.S. Commerce Department and International Trade Commission).
  • U.S. precious metal jewelry imports totaled $6.3 billion in 2008, down 33.6 percent from 2007 but still 50 percent higher than in 1997. The leading sources in 2008 were India, China, Canada, Thailand, and Italy. (U.S. Commerce Department and International Trade Commission).
  • U.S. fashion (costume) jewelry imports totaled $1.43 billion in 2008, down 0.9 percent from 2007 but up almost 300 percent from 1997. China accounted for $1.01 billion of the 2008 total. (U.S. Commerce Department and International Trade Commission).
  • U.S. fashion (costume) jewelry exports totaled $196 million in 2008, up 17 percent from 2007 but down about 15 percent from (U.S. Commerce Department and International Trade Commission).
  • Median annual earnings for jewelers and precious stone and metal workers were $29,750 in May 2006, the latest statistics available. The middle 50 percent earned between $22,390 and $40,160. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $17,760, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $54,940. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)