20 jobs popular in 2000 that have almost disappeared

We found 20 industries that employed lots of Americans at the turn of the millennium that are a fraction of the size today.
The hardest-hit sectors are manufacturing industries like apparel production that have lost jobs to automation and trade, and industries like newspaper publishing and video rental that have largely moved online.
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In 2000, the world wide web was barely a decade old, and the first big internet tech boom was only beginning to threaten incumbent industries. Watching videos at home and listening to music still involved walking to an actual store, and the overwhelming majority of Americans got their news from TV or print newspapers.

A lot has changed since the turn of the millennium, and to take a look at how the economy has been transformed, we found 20 jobs that employed hundreds of thousands of people in 2000 that are only a fraction of that size today.

Using data from the 2000 Census and the 2017 American Community Survey assembled by the Minnesota Population Center's Integrated Public Use Microdata Series project, we looked at what industries had the biggest percent drops in employment between then and now.

For our analysis, we looked at industries that had at least 100,000 people employed in 2000. We also excluded military branches and a handful of "catchall" industrial groupings used by the Census, instead focusing on specific industries in the civilian sector.

Textiles and apparel manufacturing, non-digital publishing, and certain types of retail stores that have been replaced by online alternatives all show up on the list. These industries have been hit particularly hard by changes in global trade and the rise of the internet in the 21st century.

Here are the industries, along with the number of employees in 2000 and 2017:

20. Publishing (except newspapers and software): 397,320 people were employed in 2000, falling to 251,952 in 2017 (a 37% drop).

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Jan Woitas/picture alliance via Getty Images

19. Toys, amusement, and sporting-goods manufacturing: 141,372 people were employed in 2000, falling to 87,828 in 2017 (a 38% drop).

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Shoshy Ciment/Business Insider

18. Electrical-goods wholesalers: 389,896 people were employed in 2000, falling to 239,178 in 2017 (a 39% drop).

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Shoshy Ciment/Business Insider

17. Petroleum and petroleum-product wholesalers: 156,080 people were employed in 2000, falling to 94,992 in 2017 (a 39% drop).

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Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

16. Wired telecommunications carriers: 933,409 people were employed in 2000, falling to 564,715 in 2017 (a 39% drop).

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Flickr/Consumerist Dot Com

15. Gift, novelty, and souvenir shops: 256,873 people were employed in 2000, falling to 150,708 in 2017 (a 41% drop).

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AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty

14. Metal forging and stamping: 126,024 people were employed in 2000, falling to 73,716 in 2017 (a 42% drop).

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US Department of Agriculture/Flickr/CC 2.0 Attribution

13. Retail florists: 170,668 people were employed in 2000, falling to 97,097 in 2017 (a 43% drop).

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Flickr/Paul van de Velde

12. Commercial and service-industry machinery manufacturing: 155,142 people were employed in 2000, falling to 84,420 in 2017 (a 46% drop).

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Johnny Greig/Getty Images

11. Cut-and-sew apparel manufacturing: 374,647 people were employed in 2000, falling to 199,462 in 2017 (a 47% drop).

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Reuters

10. Communications, audio, and video equipment manufacturing: 268,419 people were employed in 2000, falling to 135,950 in 2017 (a 49% drop).

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Flickr/Hkan Dahlstrm

9. Fabric mills: 183,948 people were employed in 2000, falling to 92,889 in 2017 (a 50% drop).

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Rhonda Oglesby/Flickr

8. Paper and paper-product wholesalers: 122,214 people were employed in 2000, falling to 60,222 in 2017 (a 51% drop).

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WeStudio/Shutterstock

7. Foundries: 188,189 people were employed in 2000, falling to 88,234 in 2017 (a 53% drop).

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Panksvatouny/Shutterstock

6. Newspaper publishers: 519,981 people were employed in 2000, falling to 208,549 in 2017 (a 60% drop).

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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

5. Textile product mills: 201,094 people were employed in 2000, falling to 77,263 in 2017 (a 62% drop).

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Vintagepix/Shutterstock

4. Computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing: 425,694 people were employed in 2000, falling to 146,624 in 2017 (a 66% drop).

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Associated Press

3. Aerospace product and parts manufacturing: 233,559 people were employed in 2000, falling to 66.921 in 2017 (a 71% drop).

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Joint Strike Fighter

2. Music stores: 141,262 people were employed in 2000, falling to 39,687 in 2017 (a 72% drop).

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1. Video-tape and disk rental: 127,828 people were employed in 2000, falling to 12,780 in 2017 (a 90% drop).

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Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images

20 jobs popular in 2000 that have almost disappeared

20. Publishing (except newspapers and software): 397,320 people were employed in 2000, falling to 251,952 in 2017 (a 37% drop).

19. Toys, amusement, and sporting-goods manufacturing: 141,372 people were employed in 2000, falling to 87,828 in 2017 (a 38% drop).

18. Electrical-goods wholesalers: 389,896 people were employed in 2000, falling to 239,178 in 2017 (a 39% drop).

17. Petroleum and petroleum-product wholesalers: 156,080 people were employed in 2000, falling to 94,992 in 2017 (a 39% drop).

16. Wired telecommunications carriers: 933,409 people were employed in 2000, falling to 564,715 in 2017 (a 39% drop).

15. Gift, novelty, and souvenir shops: 256,873 people were employed in 2000, falling to 150,708 in 2017 (a 41% drop).

14. Metal forging and stamping: 126,024 people were employed in 2000, falling to 73,716 in 2017 (a 42% drop).

13. Retail florists: 170,668 people were employed in 2000, falling to 97,097 in 2017 (a 43% drop).

12. Commercial and service-industry machinery manufacturing: 155,142 people were employed in 2000, falling to 84,420 in 2017 (a 46% drop).

11. Cut-and-sew apparel manufacturing: 374,647 people were employed in 2000, falling to 199,462 in 2017 (a 47% drop).

10. Communications, audio, and video equipment manufacturing: 268,419 people were employed in 2000, falling to 135,950 in 2017 (a 49% drop).

9. Fabric mills: 183,948 people were employed in 2000, falling to 92,889 in 2017 (a 50% drop).

8. Paper and paper-product wholesalers: 122,214 people were employed in 2000, falling to 60,222 in 2017 (a 51% drop).

7. Foundries: 188,189 people were employed in 2000, falling to 88,234 in 2017 (a 53% drop).

6. Newspaper publishers: 519,981 people were employed in 2000, falling to 208,549 in 2017 (a 60% drop).

5. Textile product mills: 201,094 people were employed in 2000, falling to 77,263 in 2017 (a 62% drop).

4. Computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing: 425,694 people were employed in 2000, falling to 146,624 in 2017 (a 66% drop).

3. Aerospace product and parts manufacturing: 233,559 people were employed in 2000, falling to 66.921 in 2017 (a 71% drop).

2. Music stores: 141,262 people were employed in 2000, falling to 39,687 in 2017 (a 72% drop).

1. Video-tape and disk rental: 127,828 people were employed in 2000, falling to 12,780 in 2017 (a 90% drop).

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