The manufacturing sector added 7,000 jobs in June, following an adjusted net loss of 3,000 jobs in May, according to the latest jobs report released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Overall, the sector employed 12.9 million workers last month.
Even with the job growth in June, the softening in the manufacturing job market has continued since November as the sector adapts to the slowdown in overall manufacturing activity.
Despite the adjustment, the manufacturing job market remains robust with a remarkably low unemployment rate of 2.6% compared to the broader economy’s rate of 3.57%. And the sector still offers 604,000 open positions, highlighting the continued need for more skilled workers to join the manufacturing workforce. We expect that the labor shortages will continue, particularly with the surge in new U.S. manufacturing facility investments in key focus areas such as the electric vehicle supply chain, semiconductor fabs, infrastructure build-out and green technology production.
The labor force participation rate across the economy remained unchanged at 62.6% in June. However, there was a positive trend in the participation rate among prime-age workers of 25-54 which continued to grow steadily. In June this demographic experienced another 1% increase in labor force participation, reaching a record 83.5%.
Manufacturing sector hourly earnings remained unchanged in June at $26.18. Although this figure represents a 5% increase from the same period last year, it also suggests a potential slowdown in the long-term trend of wage growth within the industry.
