From staff reports According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the auto industry employed an average of 4,486,300 people in 2024. The BLS, a division of the Department of Labor, reported that the auto industry accounted for 2.8% of all nonfarm jobs in America last year.
Auto industry employment numbers include vehicle and parts manufacturing, wholesale trade (when retailers buy and sell cars at auctions to manage inventory), retail trade (car dealerships and accessory stores), and repair and maintenance services.
From February 2024 to February 2025, employment in all categories grew, except for jobs specifically in manufacturing motor vehicle parts and other motor vehicle retail trade dealers.
Automakers produced 12.86 million vehicles in the U.S. in 2022, according to the Department of Energy, which tracks car manufacturing numbers by year and type of car. That number reflected a pandemic-related dip in production trends. From 2015 - 2019, ca r manufacturers produced 16–17 million vehicles per year.
Of the vehicles produced in 2022, SUVs comprised the biggest portion at 6.97 million (54% of the to tal for that year). Cars accounted for 3.41 million (27%); pickup trucks were at 2.11 million (16%); followed by vans at around 374,000 (3%).