Majority-owned U.S. affiliates of foreign multinational enterprises employed 8.35 million workers in the United States in 2022, a 6.8 percent increase from 7.82 million workers in 2021, according to statistics on U.S. affiliate operations and finances released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Majority-owned U.S. affiliates accounted for 6.2 percent of total private-industry employment in the United States in 2022, up slightly from 6.1 percent in 2021 (chart 1). By industry, employment was largest in manufacturing and in retail trade (table 1). Majority-owned U.S. affiliates with ultimate owners in the United Kingdom, Japan, and Canada were the largest contributors to employment (table 2).
Current-dollar value added of majority-owned U.S. affiliates, a measure of their direct contribution to U.S. gross domestic product, increased 16.1 percent to $1.35 trillion in 2022. These affiliates accounted for 6.7 percent of total U.S. business-sector value added, up from 6.4 percent in 2021.
Expenditures for property, plant, and equipment by majority-owned U.S. affiliates increased 3.8 percent to $299.1 billion. These affiliates accounted for 15.7 percent of total U.S. private business capital expenditures. Research and development (R&D) performed by majority-owned U.S. affiliates increased 3.5 percent to $80.3 billion. These affiliates accounted for 11.6 percent of total U.S. business R&D in 2022.
By state, (chart 2 and table 4), majority-owned U.S. affiliate employment was highest in California (852,300), Texas (695,600), and New York (546,500). In all three states, majority-owned U.S. affiliates in the manufacturing sector employed the most workers (table 3).
Additional statistics on the activities of U.S. affiliates of foreign multinationals including sales, balance sheet and income statement items, compensation of employees, trade, and more are available on BEA’s website. More industry-, country-, and state-level detail are available on the website and will be highlighted in December in the Survey of Current Business.
Updates to the statistics
Statistics for 2021 are revised to incorporate newly available and revised source data (table A). Preliminary statistics for 2021 were released in August 2023 and highlighted in “Activities of U.S. Affiliates of Foreign Multinational Enterprises in 2021” in the Survey of Current Business in September 2023.
| Preliminary estimate |
Revised estimate |
|
|---|---|---|
| Number of employees (thousands) | 7,940.2 | 7,817.5 |
| Value added | 1,161.0 | 1,162.6 |
| Expenditures for property, plant, and equipment | 290.8 | 288.2 |
| Research and development expenditures | 78.3 | 77.6 |
| U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis | ||
Next release: November 2025
Activities of U.S. Affiliates of Foreign Multinational Enterprises, 2023
Note: International Economic Accounts news releases will no longer include a separate “Release Highlights” document as part of the releases’ “Related Materials.” Information previously included in Highlights will continue to be available in the news releases and on BEA’s website.
