Manufacturing in America isn't totally dead, but it might be on life support — everywhere but Houston, that is.

The Business Journal's On Numbers analyzed figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, measuring data on manufacturing jobs in 100 cities versus the numbers in 2006 and one year ago.

The results were unsurprisingly moribund: In the past five years, the nation has lost 1.43 million manufacturing jobs, including overall losses in 96 out of 100 markets. Considering that 2006 was essentially the decade's economic high point before the calamitous housing and financial bubbles burst, this report could have been pulled from the Journal of Duh Squared.

But Houston stands out as one of only four markets that has more manufacturing jobs now than five years ago, with an increase of 1.02 percent, or about 2,270 jobs. Houston is also now the fifth-largest base of manufacturing jobs in the country, with 227,000 employed in the sector. Every other large manufacturing center — Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, etc. — suffered double-digit percentage losses in the same period.

Of the five-year growth cities, Houston was outpaced by Bakersfield and Modesto, Calif. (3.94 and 3.74 percent growth, respectively) and Charleston, S.C., with 1.42 percent growth. However, in raw numbers, Houston's new manufacturing jobs easily eclipse those in the top three cities combined.

The job numbers since June 2010 tell a different story. Houston's rate of growth is even higher, at 4.6 percent, but it's ranked at only No. 13 behind resurgent markets like Tulsa (plus 12.44 percent); Akron, Ohio (plus 7.47 percent); Provo, Utah (plus 7.32 percent) and even Detroit (plus 6.22 percent).

In the previous year, half of all markets had either flat job markets or saw at least modest job growth. That's not great, but it does imply that many of the losses were sustained in previous years and that the sector is, if not fully recovering, at least staunching the bloodletting.

In addition to Houston, other Texas gainers in the one-year manufacturing jobs included the McAllen-Edinburg market, ranked No. 20 with 3.45 percent growth; San Antonio at No. 29 with 2.48 percent; Austin in 35th with 2.11, and El Paso at No. 43 with 1.22 percent growth.