Michigan leads U.S. manufacturing plunge

The plight of the U.S. manufacturing sector is sharply visible in Michigan where unemployment is the highest in the nation at 9 percent, statistics show.

The state has lost 400,000 manufacturing jobs in the past eight years, The Washington Post reported Friday.

Outsourcing and the current financial meltdown have hit the state hard twice, Gov. Jennifer Granholm said.

"It's devastating. Companies . . . that are already slammed by globalization are being slammed by the credit crunch," Granholm said.

Over the past year, domestic automobile sales have fallen 11.5 percent, the U.S. Census Bureau News reported Thursday.

In Michigan, the industry has seen 47 percent of its jobs evaporate since 2000, compared with 27 percent of its other manufacturing jobs, the Post said.

In return, stocks at General Motors have plunged to $4.76 per share to their lowest mark in nearly 50 years. GM shares fell 31 percent Thursday, while Ford Motor Co. shares dropped 21 percent to $4.08.