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Manufacturing employment rose by 30,000 in July, building on the gain of 27,000 seen in June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate declined to 3.5%.

Worker data: Net hiring in durable and non-durable goods sectors was 21,000 and 9,000, respectively.

• Through the first seven months of 2022, manufacturing has hired 271,000 workers, building on the 365,000 employees brought on in calendar year 2021, the most since 1994.
• June employment in manufacturing, which stands at 12,826,000, exceeded pre-pandemic numbers.
• In July, there were 41,000 more employees in the sector than there were in February 2020.

Payroll numbers: Average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers rose 3% in July, up to $25.09 from $25.01 in June.

• Wage growth has decelerated from the 5.7% pace seen in March and April, which was the fastest seen since August 1982, but average hourly earnings continue to increase sharply.  

The overall economy: Nonfarm payroll employment soared by 528,000 in July, up from June’s 398,000.

The final say: “For their part, manufacturers continue to cite difficulties in attracting and retaining workers,” said NAM Chief Economist Chad Moutray. However, “on a year-over-year basis, there was increased employment in every major manufacturing sector, which was encouraging.”