Steve Minter

U.S. payrolls increased by 175,000 jobs in May but manufacturing continued to suffer from an uncertain economy as revised data showed the sector had shed jobs for the third month in a row.

Manufacturing employment fell by 8,000 in May and revised data showed that the sector lost 9,000 jobs in April and 4,000 jobs in March.

Factory production rose in Texas in May, as the Dallas Fed’s manufacturing outlook survey showed an increase from -0.5 in April to 11.2. However, the Chicago Fed’s report on Midwest manufacturing found activity had decreased 0.5% in April.

Along with stronger production, the Texas survey found that new orders rebounded to 6.2 after falling to -4.9 in April and capacity utilization jumped from 2.7 last month to 6.4.

With a drop in imports from China leading the way, the U.S. trade deficit in March fell to $38.8 billion, down from a revised $43.6 billion in February.

Imports from China declined by $5.5 billion in March. “The surge correction comes atop of a surge in February, and may be related to the timing of the Lunar New Year celebrations in China,” noted Michael Dolega, an economist with TD Economics. Dolega said the rising renminbi would likely “continue to put downward pressure on Chinese imports.”