Since January, 2023, manufacturing employment edged down by 1,000 workers in both February and March. The March total of 12,983,000 remained just shy of the more than 14-year high, but with hiring clearly showing signs of stalling. NAM

The labor market remained solid, even with some weaknesses. The unemployment rate edged down from 3.6% in February to 3.5% in March, continuing to hover around “full employment” and just a tick away from January’s 3.4% reading, which was the lowest level since May 1969. NAM

After contracting for five straight months, manufacturing activity rebounded in April, expanding ever so slightly. The S&P Global Flash U.S. Manufacturing PMI rose from 49.2 in March to 50.4 in April, with stronger data for new orders, output and employment. NAM

US Manufacturing Labor Information/April: Male employment in the sector increased by 86,000, or a gain of 0.9%, over that time frame. Women accounted for 29.2% of total employment in the sector in April, the most since January 2005. NAM

N. America served as a bright spot in April, w/ Canada and Mexico being the only 2 economies in the top 10 markets for U.S.-manf. goods that experienced expanding growth. (S&P Global U.S. Manf. PMI also registered positive results, expanding for the 1st time since Oct.) NAM

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This week’s The NAM Monday Economic Report - “Manufacturing Hiring Has Slowed in 2023, but Wage Growth Remains Solid” view.email.nam.org/?qs=7481f8b4c4…

Manufacturing employment edged down by 2,000 in May, declining for the second time in the past three months. The sector has added just 10,000 workers year to date, slowing materially after adding a very robust 385,000 and 390,000 employees in 2021 and 2022, respectively. NAM

The big number: The labor force participation rate for those aged 25-54 was 83.4% in May, the highest since January 2007. While there continues to be a debate about where the workers are, this suggests activity among prime-aged workers has bounced back. NAM

Groups that have seen declines in employment relative to pre-pandemic: 55+ population, Black or African-American, Hispanic or Latino, and men (20-34) with less education. Biggest decline is 55+, who had a participation rate of 38.4% in April, down from 40.3% in Feb 2020. NAM

In the latest NAM Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey, 67% of felt either somewhat or very positive in their company’s outlook, down from 74.7% in the first quarter. Nearly 57% of manufacturers believed that the U.S. economy would experience a recession over the next 12 months. NAM

Personal income increased 0.4% in May. Wages and salaries rose 0.5% for the month, w/ total manufacturing wages and salaries edging up 0.2%. Over the past 12 months, total wages and salaries have increased 5.7%, w/ manufacturing wages and salaries rising 4.1% year-over-year. NAM

Texas created the most net new manufacturing jobs in June, adding 6,100 workers, and it also generated the greatest employment growth over the past 12 months, with 31,000. At 1.8%, New Hampshire and South Dakota had the lowest unemployment rates nationally. NAM

Real GDP grew 2.4% at the annual rate in the second quarter of 2023. As such, the U.S. economy continues to show signs of resilience despite ongoing challenges and worries about the outlook. NAM

The average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers in manufacturing rose 0.4% to $26.59 in August, with 5.7% growth over the past 12 months, continuing to be a very solid pace. NAM

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This week’s The NAM Monday Economic Report - “Q3 Outlook Survey: Sentiment Hits Post-Pandemic Low” view.email.nam.org/?qs=28f195cfee…

Workforce challenges continue to dominate. More than 72% of manfs cited the inability to attract and retain employees as their top primary challenge, followed by a weaker domestic economy (60.7%), rising health care costs (60.1%) and an unfavorable business climate (56.7%). NAM