Criterion 6, indicator 36 : employment in the forest sector

The lack of data about employment in a number of categories indicates that we do not have full understanding of employment associated with forestry. But for some categories, employment has been declining--especially for wood furniture manufacturing, and to a lesser degree for the pulp and paper industries. This is due in part to lower competitiveness with respect to production and import of products from other countries. There has been a decline in jobs in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, but jobs in state forestry agencies are steady to increasing. Increasing participation in forest-based recreation suggests increases in forest-based recreation jobs. It would appear that in the recent past there has been a shift in the types of jobs that forests support.