Economic Data and Growth

Manufacturing employment declined in July, marking the third decrease of 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

What’s going on: Jobs in manufacturing dipped by 2,000. Year to date, the sector has added just 11,000 employees, a significant slowdown from its pace of 385,000 in 2021 and 390,000 in 2022.

• However, the number of workers in the industry in July—12,985,000—is just short of the number in February, 12,988,000. The latter was the most since November 2008.
• Overall, the economy added 187,000 jobs in July, coming in under expectations, according to Yahoo Finance.

Wages: Average hourly pay of production and nonsupervisory staff in manufacturing increased 0.3% in July to $26.46, with 5.3% growth in the past year. 

Where employment is up: In July, manufacturing’s largest employment gains were in transportation equipment (up 5,600), computers and electronic products (up 2,500), miscellaneous nondurable goods (up 1,800), primary metals (up 1,700), miscellaneous durable goods (up 1,300) and nonmetallic mineral products (up 1,000).

The NAM says: “Total manufacturing employment has remained relatively resilient despite a challenging economic environment in the sector, including weaker demand, production and an uncertain outlook,” said NAM Chief Economist Chad Moutray.