Industry comparison

Professional, Scientific & Technical Services vs Manufacturing (metal/machinery/electronics)

NAICS-sector comparison built from the H1B Report corpus. Filing volume, distinct sponsor count, sponsor concentration and dominant occupations.

Summary

Manufacturing (metal/machinery/electronics) and Professional, Scientific & Technical Services represent two distinct sectors in H-1B sponsorship activity.

Professional, Scientific & Technical Services dominates H-1B filings with 1,972,263 total petitions across 39,035 employers. This sector encompasses IT consulting, engineering, software development, and research services—roles that traditionally rely on H-1B talent. Manufacturing (metal/machinery/electronics) filed 314,824 petitions across 7,385 employers, focusing on specialized production, equipment engineering, and industrial roles.

The gap reflects sector demand: Professional Services employers file roughly 6.3 times more H-1B petitions, though they employ 5.3 times as many sponsoring firms. Manufacturing's smaller employer base suggests more concentrated sponsorship among larger industrial firms, while Professional Services distributes H-1B hiring across a broader and more fragmented vendor ecosystem.

Manufacturing vs Professional Services H-1B
H-1B filings by sector
Manufacturing H-1B sponsorship
Professional Services H-1B trends
sector comparison H-1B filings

Sector A

Professional, Scientific & Technical Services

NAICS 54Rank #1

Sector B

Manufacturing (metal/machinery/electronics)

NAICS 33Rank #3

Key metrics

Filings / employer is a concentration hint — higher means a few sponsors do most of the filing.

Metric	Professional, Scientific & Technical Services	Manufacturing (metal/machinery/electronics)
Total filings	1,972,263▲	314,824
National share %	51.47%▲	8.22%
Distinct sponsors	39,035▲	7,385
Filings / employer	51	43
Rank	#1▲	#3
Top sponsor	COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS US CORP	Apple Inc.
Top occupation	Software Developers	Software Developers