March Labor Report: The Manufacturing Industries Adding Jobs

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported March 4th that the U.S. manufacturing sector added jobs in February, while unfilled positions in the sector have finally begun to ease.

In February, U.S. manufacturers added 36,000 new positions, while the economy as a whole added 678,000 positions.

Meanwhile, the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey finds that the number of job openings in the sector as dropped significantly from a historic high of nearly one million positions set back in September 2021. As of December, unfilled positions in manufacturing now stand at 737,000—still a historic number compared to the average number of job openings in the sector prior to the pandemic. Although the manufacturing labor shortage has begun to show signs of easing, industrial companies are still struggling with a dearth of available labor.

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Today, we’re exploring the most recent manufacturing numbers from the Labor Department, providing the gains and losses by specific subsector, as well as the latest in manufacturing job openings.

The Manufacturing Sectors That Added the Most Jobs in February 2022

In February, both durable and non-durable goods manufacturing added jobs, with durable goods adding 20,000 jobs and non-durable goods adding another 16,000.

Gains were led by the fabricated metals, which added 10,000 jobs. The U.S. machinery sector added another 8,300, while food manufacturing gained 7,200 jobs. Other sectors adding jobs included electrical equipment and appliances (+4,000); and computer & electronic products (+3,100). Furniture; nonmetallic mineral products; primary metals; and electronic instruments each posted a roughly 3,000-job gain in February.

The Manufacturing Industries That Lost Jobs in February 2022

Manufacturing job losses in February were overwhelmingly led by the auto industry. Transportation equipment shed a whopping 20,700 jobs, while motor vehicles lost 18,000 jobs.

Interestingly, this sector was the only to lose jobs in February, apart from communications equipment, which saw a minor 200-job loss over the month. Automakers have been struggling for months from a disrupted supply chain, labor issues, and shortages of key components such as semiconductors.

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