Exports are an important source of U.S. economic growth and job creation.

• In the past decade, exports accounted for roughly one-quarter of U.S. economic growth. Between 1990 and 2000, export-related jobs grew by 56 percent — three times faster than job growth in the remainder of the economy.
• Ten percent of all U.S. jobs (approximately 12 million) depend on exports. One in five factory jobs depend on international trade.
• Job creation in the United States considerably outnumbers jobs lost due to import competition. The 35 million jobs created in the United States in the past 10 years have offset the 2 million jobs lost to import competition over the past 20 years.
• Over the past 20 years, the unemployment rate has fallen significantly despite a steady increase in imports over the same period.
• Foreign investment in the United States creates U.S. jobs. Foreign companies have invested $1.5 trillion in the United States since 1990 and employ more than 6 million U.S. workers, up from 4.9 million in 1991.

Firms that participate in a global economy grow faster and pay more than those that do not.

• Increases in export demand lead to more job growth than do comparable increases in domestic demand. A 10 percent increase in American exports leads to a 6.9 percent increase in domestic employment. By comparison, a 10 percent increase in domestic demand creates just a 4.2 percent increase in U.S. employment.
• Jobs that depend on trade generally pay about 13 to 18 percent more than the average wage.
• U.S. firms with global operations generate better domestic jobs at home. Such firms pay an average wage in the United States that is $15,000 greater than that paid by firms that are less globally integrated.