In business for 40 years, Monmouth Rubber and Plastics Corp. in Long Branch has done everything it can to survive. The company is in a tax-friendly urban enterprise zone, it trains its work force continually and it exports to emerging markets.

The company needs every edge it gets, owner John M. Bonforte Sr. said, because its competitors are operating less expensively overseas. But in New Jersey, those edges are hard to find.

"As soon as we innovate and save a dollar, we find the state has added 20 or 30 cents to our operating costs," Bonforte said.

Bonforte and other executives are calling on state government to improve the climate for manufacturers, even though some observers believe the continuing shrinking of the sector is inevitable.

To stem the job losses in manufacturing -- 74,000 in the last three years alone -- the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, the state's largest business lobby group, has unveiled a set of 31 proposals, from tax breaks to easing environmental regulations, that it says will help its manufacturing members compete -- at least regionally.

Saving the once powerful industry could be tough. New Jersey once was a hub of manufacturing activity, building everything from slide rules to television sets, said James W. Hughes, an economist and dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.

But in some cases, the products became obsolete. In others, companies searched for other states -- and countries -- where land is more available for expansion and the work force is more affordable, allowing them to sell their final product cheaper, Hughes said.

As a result, the sector has eroded from 900,000 workers in the late 1960s to a little more than 340,000 workers today.

Nonetheless, the Business and Industry Association said the sector is worth trying to save. It still represents more than 10 percent of the private-sector work force; the jobs typically pay 20 percent more than the state's average wage; and many of those jobs are available to less-skilled workers who live in urban and older suburban areas, where good-paying jobs are harder to find, the association reported.

"It's still a significant component to the economy, and it still pays significant taxes. And it's something that shouldn't be ignored," Hughes said. "If there are some public policy or regulatory adjustments to help us retain manufacturing . . . then it's worth pursuing."

Monmouth Rubber and Plastics has 48 workers, and it makes foam for rubber and plastic used in flotation vests, wet suits and padding for football and baseball helmets. Bonforte pays his entry-level workers $8 an hour along with overtime pay; he covers half their health insurance; and he offers a 401(k) retirement plan.

The company has survived, Bonforte said, by automating its plant and changing its product line. It once made rubber and plastic; now it makes closed cell foam that's used to make rubber and plastic. But the competition from overseas is intense, he said.

"You say you want to be competitive, you don't want to outsource jobs, but you need to give businesses the tools to fight the war," Bonforte said.

With input from Bonforte and other executives, the Business and Industry Association has made several suggestions to reduce the manufacturers' cost of doing business.

Among them:

Make health insurance more affordable. The cost of health insurance was $6,692 in 2003, up 13 percent from 2002, the association reported. To rein in costs, it wants the state to review the cost of mandates -- diseases and illnesses that insurers are required to cover in New Jersey. Those account for 15 percent of premiums, according to Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Change tax policy. The association said Gov. McGreevey has raised taxes on businesses, making it harder for manufacturers to survive. To reverse the trend, it wants the state to offer tax relief for: companies that had a net loss but are newly profitable; companies that buy new equipment; companies that offer health insurance to their workers; and companies that reach pollution-reduction goals.

Ease environmental burdens. The association said the cost of environmental compliance is among the highest in the nation because of permit fees, fines and penalties. It wants the state to adhere to federal standards instead, and reduce fees and fines.

Be friendlier. The association said just 15 percent of its members say New Jersey is a good place to do business. It wants the state to create a manufacturing advocate who would review proposed legislation and decide if it is burdensome to manufacturers. And it wants the state to recognize companies with good environmental management programs by offering accelerated permitting and less paperwork.

"We think we we can compete, particularly in the region, to save those jobs," said Philip Kirschner, president of the Business and Industry Association. Kirschner noted that 57 percent of both manufacturing and nonmanufacturing jobs that leave New Jersey only go as far as a neighboring state.

Mary Caffrey, spokeswoman for the New Jersey Commerce and Economic Growth Commission, said the state offers manufacturers a skilled work force and access to ports that are nearly unrivaled, but the McGreevey administration has taken notice of the report.

The governor, for example, has proposed expanding one tax credit for manufacturers with fewer than 50 employees. Those who buy equipment this year will get to deduct 4 percent of the value instead of 2 percent.

And new Commerce Secretary Virginia Bauer will look at the economy "through the eyes of manufacturers," Caffrey said.

That alone may not be enough. Political opponents say McGreevey has virtually ignored the needs of manufacturers.

"What I think the state government ought to be doing is recognizing the unique challenges manufacturers face in a populated, expensive, Northeastern state versus how people make things in China," said Sen. Joseph M. Kyrillos Jr., R-Monmouth. "And they should bend over backward and try to ensure we've got not just service jobs and information jobs, but the right kinds of policies in place for people who want to make things."