Final answer:
The statement is false; manufacturing jobs have declined by more than a third since their peak in the late 1970s, and there is no evidence of a twentyfold increase in worker productivity.
Step-by-step explanation:
The claim that the number of people employed in manufacturing has held steady over the past half-century, with each manufacturing employee now manufacturing about 20 times as much, is false. In reality, the number of jobs in manufacturing has undergone significant changes, and while the productivity of individual workers has increased, such assertions about it increasing twentyfold lack supporting data.
According to FIGURE 14.13, jobs in manufacturing peaked in the late 1970s and have since declined by more than a third.
Moreover, while the average hourly wage for a manufacturing worker has increased substantially due to inflation and other factors, there is no evidence to suggest that the productivity of the average worker is six times higher than it was in 1970, much less twenty times higher.
It is important to consider the broader implications of these changes for workers, including how advancements in technology and changes in work processes, as introduced historically by methods such as Ford's assembly line, have reshaped their roles and the employment landscape, often leading to increases in productivity at the cost of diminished job satisfaction.