© Industryviews/Dreamstime
Food Production Line Women Blurry Food Manufacturing Jobs Pralines © Industryviews Dreamstime
Food Production Line Women Blurry Food Manufacturing Jobs Pralines © Industryviews Dreamstime
Food Production Line Women Blurry Food Manufacturing Jobs Pralines © Industryviews Dreamstime
Food Production Line Women Blurry Food Manufacturing Jobs Pralines © Industryviews Dreamstime
Food Production Line Women Blurry Food Manufacturing Jobs Pralines © Industryviews Dreamstime

Unemployment Rate Hits 6.9% As Manufacturing Adds 38,000 Jobs

Nov. 6, 2020
Manufacturing still employs 621,000 fewer people than it did in February, according to the Department of Labor Statistics.

The U.S. jobs market continued to improve in October. The Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported November 6 that the U.S. economy added 638,000 new nonfarm jobs and the unemployment rate fell a full percentage point to 6.9%.

Excluding government jobs, the labor market actually added 906,000 jobs, as 150,000 temporary government workers finished the 2020 census last month.

Manufacturing added 38,000 new jobs, fewer than the 60,000 added in September. Manufacturing still employs several thousand fewer people than it did before the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Durable goods manufacturing added 21,000 jobs: fabricated metal products added 7,200 jobs, primary metals added 6,000, and wood products added 4,400. Machinery manufacturers hired 3,900 more people, Computer and electronics manufacturers hired 3,500, and miscellaneous durable goods manufacturing added 2,100.

Nonmetallic mineral products, electrical equipment and appliances, transportation equipment, and furniture all lost jobs, however: Nonmetallic minerals and electrical equipment each lost fewer than a thousand jobs, while furniture and transportation equipment lost 1,200 and 2,400 instead.

Despite the overall loss in transportation equipment jobs, motor vehicles and parts manufacturers actually added 1,400 jobs.

Nondurable goods manufacturing added 17,000 new jobs in October, led strongly by food manufacturing, which added 6,200 jobs. Plastics and rubber products added 3,500 jobs, printing and related support activities added 2,400, and petroleum and coal products added 2,000. Paper and paper products manufacturing lost 1,500 jobs.

The number of manufacturing jobs is still 621,000 jobs shy of where it was in February before the sector lost more than a million jobs over the course of March and April. May and June consequently saw six-digit gains as factories sprang back to work with new protection protocols in place, but since July, manufacturing job growth has hovered between 29,000 and 60,000 jobs per month.

Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, said “there are still hundreds of thousands of manufacturing workers among the tens of millions of Americans left unemployed by the coronavirus recession.” He called for the winner of the 2020 presidential election to produce a “major infrastructure and clean energy investment package,” which he said would create millions of new jobs and produce economy recovery.

Popular Sponsored Recommendations

Empowering the Modern Workforce: The Power of Connected Worker Technologies

March 1, 2024
Explore real-world strategies to boost worker safety, collaboration, training, and productivity in manufacturing. Emphasizing Industry 4.0, we'll discuss digitalization and automation...

Adopting an Open Ecosystem: The Way Forward for Frontline Operations

March 11, 2024
Today's manufacturing tech stack thrives on connectivity, integrating new and legacy players for a seamless operation - not on monolithic systems. Embrace the future of frontline...

3 Best Practices to Create a Product-Centric Competitive Advantage with PRO.FILE PLM

Jan. 25, 2024
Gain insight on best practices and strategies you need to accelerate engineering change management and reduce time to market. Register now for your opportunity to accelerate your...

Transformative Capabilities for XaaS Models in Manufacturing

Feb. 14, 2024
The manufacturing sector is undergoing a pivotal shift toward "servitization," or enhancing product offerings with services and embracing a subscription model. This transition...

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of IndustryWeek, create an account today!