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Manufacturing jobs decreased by 12,000 in August, according to the monthly jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Job creation for all nonfarm payrolls was low, coming in at only 22,000 in total.

In manufacturing: The durable goods sector lost 19,000 jobs from July to August, driving the overall decline in manufacturing jobs. Meanwhile, nondurable goods added 7,000 jobs.

• The bright spots included food manufacturing, which added 3,100 jobs, and plastics and rubber products manufacturing, which added 4,300.
• Transportation equipment manufacturing showed the largest decrease in jobs at 14,500.

 In the overall economy: June’s job gain was revised downward by 27,000 to a loss of 13,000 jobs, while July’s increase was revised upward by 6,000 to 79,000 jobs.

• The overall unemployment rate for nonfarm payrolls was 4.3% in August, little changed from July’s 4.2%. Likewise, the labor force participation rate was 62.3%, up only slightly from July’s 62.2%.

The NAM says: “With manufacturing activity down, so is hiring. August brought a fourth consecutive month of job losses for manufacturing, and employment in the industry is now down 78,000 over the year. If uncertainty persists and activity remains slow, many manufacturers will continue to hold off on hiring,” said NAM Chief Economist Victoria Bloom.