An annual review of manufacturing by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach’s Center for Industrial Research and Service shows positive signs of growth in Iowa.

According to the review, manufacturing employment increased 2.5 percent in 2011 from the previous year. Although the state appears to be regaining some of the manufacturing jobs lost during the recession, employment in the sector is still 10 percent lower than pre-recession levels, said Liesl Eathington, an assistant scientist with ISU’s department of economics.

Due to gains in productivity, a healthy manufacturing sector won’t necessarily be a large jobs producer for the state in the future, she said in a release.

The manufacturing sector’s 211,998 jobs accounted for 10.8 percent of Iowa’s total employment in 2011, according to the report.