As long as industries have been evolving and growing, they have also been going extinct. Over the past decade, innovation, overseas outsourcing, national and state legislation, changing consumer preference, a recession, and a number of other economic factors have coalesced to significantly alter the industrial composition in the United States.

The U.S. employment growth of 3.8% over the past decade was not even across all industries. In fact, 341 of 596 industries classified by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) had negative employment growth between 2005 and 2014. Jobs at open-end investment funds contracted the most, going from 21,918 workers to just 421 over the 10-year period. To identify the fastest dying industries, 24/7 Wall St. analyzed employment figures from 2005 to 2014 from the BLS.

The reasons behind the declines of these industries are different. The employment decline in newspaper publishing, which is one of the fastest shrinking industries, can be directly linked to the proliferation of digital news media. However, the employment decline in private household workers, such as cooks, maids, butlers, gardeners, and babysitters, is somewhat less straightforward. Nevertheless, a few economic trends can explain the downsizing in many U.S. industries.

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One trend is the decline of domestic manufacturing. As the U.S. continues to source its cotton manufacturing and production from foreign countries, many U.S. textile-related industries dwindle. Employment in hosiery and sock mills, for example, fell from 23,171 workers in 2005 to 8,876 in 2014, a 61.7% contraction.

The manufacturing slump is strengthened by a decline in new home construction. In an interview with 24/7 Wall St., Martin Kohli, chief regional economist at the BLS, explained “The level of spending on residential investments still remains below where it was, in real terms, before the housing bubble burst, and that means that construction is below where it was.” Kohli went on: “It also means that the manufacturing industries that produce things that go into the construction of new homes — they’re relatively depressed, too.”

Another such trend may be more obvious to the average consumer. The widespread popularity of digital media and online streaming options has precipitated the downfall of many formerly prominent brick-and-mortar media industries. Employment in video tape and disc rental fell by 88.8% over the past decade, from 143,799 American workers in 2005 to just 16,145 in 2014.

To identify the dying industries, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed employment growth from 2005 through last year for 596 U.S. industries in the fourth level of detail in The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) by the U.S. Census Bureau. All data, including the number of establishments within each industry, average weekly and annual wages, as well as breakouts of these data over government, private, and local levels were retrieved from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). We excluded industries defined as miscellaneous, catch-all, or in vague terms such as “all other.”

These are the America’s dying industries.

25. Accessories and other apparel manufacturing
> Employment growth from 2005-2014: -45.3%
> Avg. annual employment growth: -6.5%
> Employment total: 11,571
> Avg. annual wage: $36,896

While employment in the manufacturing sector has decreased by 14.3% since 2005, certain industries within the sector have been hit even harder. In the accessories and other apparel manufacturing industry, employment dropped from 21,155 workers in 2005 to only 11,571 workers in 2014, a 45.3% decline. Accessory and apparel manufacturing in the U.S. has taken a hit due in part to competition from manufacturers overseas. Domestic apparel manufacturing may not be doomed to outsourcing, however. According to industry research firm IBIS World, manufacturers abroad may not yet be equipped to produce certain clothing such as premium jeans and outerwear that are gaining popularity.

24. Newspaper publishers
> Employment growth from 2005-2014: -45.5%
> Avg. annual employment growth: -6.5%
> Employment total: 201,830
> Avg. annual wage: $47,489

Largely due to the widespread popularity of online news sources, newspaper and print media circulation has waned over the past two decades. From 2005 through 2014, employment in the industry declined from 370,144 U.S. workers to 201,830, a 45.5% contraction. As employees are continually laid off, many offices are also closing. In that same time period, the number of newspaper publishing establishments fell by 15.3%, while establishments in the information sector as a whole rose 6.2%.

As newspaper publishing declines, many major newspapers are focusing on digital presence. According to social research think tank Pew Research Center, online advertising has comprised an increasingly larger share of total ad revenue for most U.S. newspapers over the past decade.

23. Private households
> Employment growth from 2005-2014: -46.3%
> Avg. annual employment growth: -6.7%
> Employment total: 278,589
> Avg. annual wage: $23,106

Employment in the private households industry, which includes such workers as cooks, maids, butlers, gardeners, and babysitters, is in decline. The number of private household workers in the country has fallen from 518,612 in 2005 to 278,589 in 2014, a 46.3% contraction. Wages, however, have increased. Private household workers’ average income increased from $15,715 a year to $23,106 in the same period. The 47.0% wage increase was one of the larger growths among U.S. industries.

According to the ACS, 46% of the private household workforce is foreign-born, a much larger share than in most other industries.

22. Office supplies, except paper, manufacturing
> Employment growth from 2005-2014: -47.1%
> Avg. annual employment growth: -6.8%
> Employment total: 11,887
> Avg. annual wage: $45,610

The office supply manufacturing industry was hard hit by two major forces: the Great Recession, which lasted from 2007 to 2009, and the ongoing digital shift in office work. Largely as a result, employment in the industry declined rapidly from 2005 through 2014. Industry employment plunged 47.1% from 22,470 workers in 2005 to only 11,887 last year. While employment across the broader manufacturing sector also dropped by 14.3% over the same time period, employment across the entire U.S. job market rose by 3.8%. As more and more work is done digitally, it will likely be difficult for the industry to recover substantially in the near future.

21. Support activities for printing
> Employment growth from 2005-2014: -48.3%
> Avg. annual employment growth: -7.1%
> Employment total: 27,482
> Avg. annual wage: $49,443

As is the case with many of the country’s fastest shrinking industries, employment in support activities for printing is declining due in part to increased preference among consumers for digital media. An integral part of the printing industry, support activities include bookbinding and print plate making. A part of the manufacturing sector, employment in support activity for printing declined by 48.3% from 2005 through 2014. Of the roughly 12.2 million manufacturing jobs in the United States, only about 27,500 are in the support activities for printing industry.

20. Telephone apparatus manufacturing
> Employment growth from 2005-2014: -48.6%
> Avg. annual employment growth: -7.1%
> Employment total: 21,973
> Avg. annual wage: $125,262

Jobs in the manufacturing of telephone apparatus, which includes cordless phones, modems, switching equipment, and answering machines among other examples, are in decline. Industry employment fell from 42,748 U.S. workers in 2005 to 21,973 in 2014, a 48.6% contraction. The decline likely due in large part to the increasingly widespread use of cellular phones and networks. Despite the employment drop, wages have increased over the past decade. From 2005 to 2014, the average income of a telephone apparatus manufacturer increased from $89,073 a year to $125,261. The 40.6% increase in wages was well ahead of the 9.5% increase in wages across the manufacturing sector as a whole.

19. Mortgage and non-mortgage loan brokers
> Employment growth from 2005-2014: -49.9%
> Avg. annual employment growth: -7.4%
> Employment total: 72,043
> Avg. annual wage: $82,564

While employment in the broad finance and insurance sector has declined by 4.6% since 2005, some of the sector’s sub-industries have been hit even harder. Employment in the mortgage and non-mortgage loan brokerage industry dropped by roughly 50% since 2005. The loan broker industry did exceedingly well before the subprime mortgage crisis, and in 2005 roughly 143,729 people were employed in the industry. However, the recession took its toll on the industry and as of last year, only about 72,000 people were employed in the mortgage and non-mortgage loan broker industry.

18. Cut and sew apparel contractors
> Employment growth from 2005-2014: -50.9%
> Avg. annual employment growth: -7.6%
> Employment total: 42,483
> Avg. annual wage: $30,067

The number of cut and sew apparel contractors in the United States has more than halved in the past decade, from 86,480 in 2005 to 42,483 in 2014. Cut and sew apparel contracting is one of a handful of textile-related industries that are in decline as a result of the increase in manufacturing imports. As the country continues to source its cotton from foreign nations, domestic textile and cotton production industries dwindle. From 2005 through 2014, employment in the U.S. manufacturing sector as a whole declined by 14.3%.

17. Knit fabric mills
> Employment growth from 2005-2014: -50.9%
> Avg. annual employment growth: -7.6%
> Employment total: 6,705
> Avg. annual wage: $38,548

Many of the nation’s fastest shrinking industries are manufacturing sub-industries, and knit fabric mills is one of them. The dramatic decline in employment in the knit fabric mills industry is largely due to competition and outsourcing overseas. In 2005, 13,661 Americans worked in the industry. Last year, 6,705 Americans worked in the industry, a more than 50% contraction. Employment across the broader manufacturing sector was down 14.3% over the same time period.

While industry employment has plummeted faster than employment across the broader manufacturing sector, industry wages have gone up at a slightly faster pace. Since 2005, annual wages across the manufacturing sector increased by an average of 9.5%. In the knit fabric mills industry, wages increased by 18.3% over the same time period.

16. Manufactured, mobile, home dealers
> Employment growth from 2005-2014: -51.5%
> Avg. annual employment growth: -7.7%
> Employment total: 12,408
> Avg. annual wage: $43,519

Mobile home dealers, who primarily sell mobile homes, parts, and equipment, are in decline. Industry employment fell from 25,592 in 2005 to 12,408 in 2014, a 51.5% decline. Mobile homes were hit particularly hard by the 2008-2009 subprime mortgage crisis. Low-income homebuyers typically in the mobile home market were among the hardest hit by the recession. A growing trend, whereby manufacturers sell directly to customers instead of going through a dealer, may have also harmed the industry. The number of mobile home dealers in the United States dropped by 45.9% from 2005 through 2014, one of the fastest downsizings of any industry.

15. Textile and fabric finishing mills
> Employment growth from 2005-2014: -51.8%
> Avg. annual employment growth: -7.8%
> Employment total: 25,317
> Avg. annual wage: $41,776

Due in large part to outsourcing overseas and increasing amounts of imported cotton, the textile and fabric finishing mills industry has been steadily declining in the United States for decades. From 2005 to 2014, industry employment declined from 52,576 workers to 25,317, a 51.8% decrease.

Textile and fabric finishing mills operate within the broader manufacturing sector. While employment in manufacturing has declined by 14.3% since 2005, it is still the fourth largest industry in the country, employing roughly 12.2 million Americans.

14. Professional employer organizations
> Employment growth from 2005-2014: -52.8%
> Avg. annual employment growth: -8.0%
> Employment total: 355,428
> Avg. annual wage: $40,415

Professional employer organizations are third party human resources or administrative organizations. The industry falls within the administrative and waste services sector. While employment in administrative and waste services grew by 6.2% from 2005 through 2014, the number of Americans employed in the professional employer organizations industry was cut roughly in half over the same time period. While 355,428 workers were employed in the industry last year, as many as 752,794 workers were employed in the industry in 2005. The decrease in employment knocked the industry down from the 26th largest in the country to the 76th largest.

13. Land subdivision
> Employment growth from 2005-2014: -54.7%
> Avg. annual employment growth: -8.4%
> Employment total: 41,866
> Avg. annual wage: $75,515

Land subdivision is the industry that precedes building construction. The industry services raw land and subdivides property into lots for sales to builders. It can also include preparing the land for utility services and roads. As demand for real estate declined following the subprime mortgage crisis, the land subdivision industry took a large hit. Even as the construction sector began to recover, development companies carried out their own subdivision work rather than contracting it out to third-party land subdivision companies. As a result of the reduced demand, employment in the land subdivision industry declined by 54.7% from 2005 through 2014, much more than the 15.7% employment decline in the construction sector as a whole.

12. Broadwoven fabric mills
> Employment growth from 2005-2014: -54.8%
> Avg. annual employment growth: -8.5%
> Employment total: 27,859
> Avg. annual wage: $41,619

The broadwoven fabric mills industry is one of many in the manufacturing sector that are among the fastest shrinking in the country. Manufacturing has been one of the hardest hit sectors, shedding roughly 14% of its workforce since 2005. However, the broadwoven fabric mills industry lost an even larger share of workers over the same time period. In 2005, the industry employed 61,669 Americans. As of last year, only 27,859 Americans were employed in broadwoven fabric mills, a nearly 58% workforce contraction.

11. Curtain and linen mills
> Employment growth from 2005-2014: -56.9%
> Avg. annual employment growth: -8.9%
> Employment total: 20,290
> Avg. annual wage: $35,040

Employment in curtain and linen mills fell from 47,113 employees in 2005 to 20,290 in 2014, a 56.9% drop. Employment in the manufacturing sector as a whole fell by 14.3% in that same time. The employment decline in curtain and linen mills and in manufacturing overall is symptomatic of a larger contraction of the U.S. textile industry. As the United States continues to rely on foreign manufacturing, domestic textile and cotton production dwindles.

10. Framing contractors
> Employment growth from 2005-2014: -60.6%
> Avg. annual employment growth: -9.8%
> Employment total: 67,702
> Avg. annual wage: $37,463

While employment in the United States grew by 3.8% from 2005 through 2014, not all sectors of the economy contributed to this growth. Employment in construction actually contracted 15.7% from 2005 through 2014. The workforce comprising the framing contractor industry, which is within the broader construction sector, dwindled even faster. While there were 171,950 framing contractors in 2005, there were only 67,702 in 2014 — a more than 60% decrease. Dwindling employment in the industry is a reflection of the lack of demand for new homes. As of June 2015, new homes are being built at less than half the rate they were built in 2006.

9. Magnetic media manufacturing and reproducing
> Employment growth from 2005-2014: -61.4%
> Avg. annual employment growth: -10.0%
> Employment total: 17,086
> Avg. annual wage: $98,516

The magnetic media manufacturing and reproducing industry, which manufactures audio and video tapes, CDs, and DVDs among other products, is in decline. With the advent and widespread popularity of digital media and online streaming, the industry is quickly becoming obsolete. Employment declined from 44,309 U.S. workers in 2005 to 17,086 in 2014, a 61.4% contraction. For the relatively few still employed in the industry today, wages have significantly increased over that period. The average wage grew from $63,864 a year in 2005 to $98,516 in 2014, a 54.3% increase.

8. Hosiery and sock mills
> Employment growth from 2005-2014: -61.7%
> Avg. annual employment growth: -10.1%
> Employment total: 8,876
> Avg. annual wage: $30,892

Hosiery and sock mills are among the many textile-related industries nationwide that are losing workers and closing businesses. Employment in the industry fell from 23,171 U.S. workers in 2005 to just 8,876 in 2014, a 61.7% drop — one of the largest declines in the country. Industry wages also fell. While the average annual income in the country increased by 31.1% over the past decade, it decreased in the hosiery and sock mill industry by 4.8%. The decline in hosiery and sock mills is part of the broader employment decline in the U.S. manufacturing sector, which lost 14.3% of jobs over the past decade.

7. Photofinishing
> Employment growth from 2005-2014: -66.4%
> Avg. annual employment growth: -11.4%
> Employment total: 10,937
> Avg. annual wage: $48,945

Photofinishing is the process of taking a photograph and turning it into a custom print, or overlaying it on a separate item, like a coffee mug. As with many of the country’s fastest shrinking industries, employment in photofinishing is dwindling due to new technologies. Employment in the industry declined 66.4% from 2005 through 2014. The prevalence of digital cameras and social media photo sharing is largely responsible for the industry’s decline.

However, for the roughly 11,000 still employed in photofinishing, the industry is more profitable than ever. In 2005, the average annual wage of an industry employee was $30,097. Since then, wages have increased 62.6% to their current level of nearly $49,000 annually. Over the same time period, wages increased about 31.1% across all industries.

6. Libraries and archives
> Employment growth from 2005-2014: -80.0%
> Avg. annual employment growth: -16.4%
> Employment total: 32,575
> Avg. annual wage: $41,024

The employment decline in libraries and archives is, like in many other industries, the result of the shift to digital technology. National employment in libraries and archives fell from 162,904 employees in 2005 to just 32,575 in 2014, the sixth largest contraction of any industry. While libraries and archives may be losing employees, the physical institutions have endured. Keeping pace with technology, many have incorporated digital information into their services and operations. The number of libraries and archives actually increased over the past decade, from 7,028 in 2005 to 7,310 in 2014.

5. Trusts, estates, and agency accounts
> Employment growth from 2005-2014: -84.3%
> Avg. annual employment growth: -18.6%
> Employment total: 1,172
> Avg. annual wage: $86,734

Employment in only a handful of U.S. industries dwindled as rapidly as it did in trusts, estates, and agency accounts. From 2005 through 2014, the industry lost 84.3% of its total workforce. Currently employing just under 1,200 Americans, trusts, estates, and agency accounts is a small industry that falls in the much broader finance and insurance sector. Industry workers administer trusts and estates on behalf of beneficiaries. Some analysts predict this industry will grow again as more Americans retire and the population ages.

4. Video tape and disc rental
> Employment growth from 2005-2014: -88.8%
> Avg. annual employment growth: -21.6%
> Employment total: 16,145
> Avg. annual wage: $22,919

The video tape and disc rental industry has been all but wiped out by the widespread popularity of digital media and online streaming. Nationwide, employment in video tape and disc rental has fallen from 143,799 employees in 2005 to just 16,145 in 2014. This 88.8% decline was the fourth largest contraction of any U.S. industry. Unlike libraries and archives, which have laid off employees while retaining their physical locations, video rental stores are closing. The number of video rental stores dropped from 15,845 in 2005 to 2,778 in 2014, the largest closing rate of any industry in the country. Today, many surviving rental stores rely on customers interested in independent, rare titles that popular online streaming providers may not offer.

3. Health and welfare funds
> Employment growth from 2005-2014: -91.5%
> Avg. annual employment growth: -24.0%
> Employment total: 864
> Avg. annual wage: $70,801

More than 10,000 Americans were employed in the health and welfare funds industry in 2005. After a 91.5% reduction in industry employment, less than 1,000 workers are employed by the industry today. The industry is traditionally non-profit and serves to provide fringe benefits, such as vacation time and medical coverage, for employees of clients.

Health and welfare funds is one of many industries within the finance and insurance sector that suffered from relatively rapid employment decline from 2005 through 2014. In the broader finance and insurance sector, employment declined by 4.6% over the same time period.

2. Pension funds
> Employment growth from 2005-2014: -96.6%
> Avg. annual employment growth: -31.3%
> Employment total: 697
> Avg. annual wage: $107,297

More employers have shifted away from pension plans in favor of offering 401(k) plans.
As a result, the pension fund industry has become nearly extinct over the past decade. Employment in the industry fell from 20,369 employees nationwide in 2005 to just 697 in 2014. The 96.6% decline was the second largest of any U.S. industry. Pension fund offices have closed accordingly. Over the same period, the number of pension fund establishments fell from 1,076 to 268. This 75.1% decrease was the second largest of any U.S. industry.

1. Open-end investment funds
> Employment growth from 2005-2014: -98.1%
> Avg. annual employment growth: -35.5%
> Employment total: 421
> Avg. annual wage: $201,307

Open-end investment funds, such as mutual funds, take pools of money and invest the funds, both to sustain themselves and make profit for investors. No industry lost a larger share of workers from 2005 through 2014 than the open-end investment funds industry. In 2005, the industry employed 21,918, compared to the 421 industry workers in 2014. While employment has plummeted, annual wages of industry workers have shot up. The average annual wage of an open-end investment fund worker was $130,785 in 2005. By 2014, the average industry worker earned $201,307, a roughly 54% increase.

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