Facts & Figures

Mississippi-made products span the range of manufactured goods, including machinery, chemicals, food products, wood products and electronics. NAFTA has benefited Mississippi industry tremendously, and the state exports a combined $2.5 billion to Canada and Mexico.

Job Creation

Trade supported 317,900 jobs in Mississippi in 2008, or 20.8% of total jobs, up from 8.6% in 1992.¹
Over one-eighth (13.9%) of all manufacturing workers in Mississippi depended on exports for their jobs.²
In 2008, 26,800 people in Mississippi were employed by U.S. affiliates of companies that are at least 50% foreign-owned.³

Exports and Growth

Mississippi exported $6.3 billion in merchandise to 168 foreign markets in 2009 (a 130% increase over 2004). Mississippi’s largest market in 2009 was Canada ($1.1 billion), followed by Mexico ($650 million), Panama ($419 million), and Afghanistan ($297 million).⁴
In 2008, 1,314 companies exported goods from Mississippi. Of these, 75% were small- and medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 500 employees.
Agricultural exports are important to Mississippi’s economy, totaling $1.6 billion and supporting about 18,532 jobs in 2008.⁵
Since 2007, the U.S. Export-Import Bank has financed $80.6 million in exports from 22 companies in 15 communities in Mississippi.⁶

Education and Research

During the 2008–2009 academic year, 985 Mississippi students studied abroad.⁷
In 2009–2010, 2,467 international students were enrolled in Mississippi colleges and universities and contributed $42.3 million to the Mississippi economy.⁸

Global Engagement

Since 1961, 422 Peace Corps volunteers from Mississippi have served in dozens of countries overseas.⁹

http://businessroundtable.org/uploads/studies-reports/downloads/Trade_and_American_Jobs.pdf
http://www.trade.gov/mas/ian/statereports/
http://www.bea.gov/scb/pdf/2010/11%20November/1110_us_ops.pdf
http://www.trade.gov/mas/ian/statereports/
http://www.fas.usda.gov/info/factsheets/WTO/states.html
https://webappsprod01.exim.gov/apps/usmap/usmap.nsf
http://www.iie.org/en/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors/Data/Fact-Sheets-by-US-State
http://www.nafsa.org/publicpolicy/default.aspx?id=23158
http://multimedia.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/stats/homestates.pdf