U.S. Manufacturing Sheds Jobs In March

April 1, 2005
The manufacturing sector shed 8,000 more jobs in March as the nonfarm U.S. economy created 110,000 new jobs, just half of the 220,000 new jobs that economists generally expected. Most of the jobs lost in manufacturing last month were in apparel, down by ...

The manufacturing sector shed 8,000 more jobs in March as the nonfarm U.S. economy created 110,000 new jobs, just half of the 220,000 new jobs that economists generally expected. Most of the jobs lost in manufacturing last month were in apparel, down by 5,000 jobs, and textiles, which lost 2,000 jobs, as both segments "continued to experience long-term job declines," the U.S. Labor Department stated when reporting the March employment numbers on April 1.

"Productivity must be booming in manufacturing-either that or industrial activity is fading away pretty quickly," says Merrill Lynch & Co., New York. "Factory payrolls defied expectations by dropping 8,000 and the manufacturing workweek slid 0.2% for the month-the second month in a row," its analysts note.

The employment news was considerably better in construction and mining, which together with manufacturing and mining constitute the goods-producing segment of the economy. Construction jobs increased by 26,000 in March, following a 31,000 increase in February. With 5,300 jobs added in March, mining employment rose for the fifth consecutive month.

Overall, the U.S. jobless rate fell to 5.2% last month from 5.4% in February, but that's largely because there were 326,000 fewer people in the nation's labor pool in March, figures Merrill. The investment firm characterizes last Friday's Labor Department numbers as "entirely disappointing . . . especially in the context of a business cycle expansion that is well into year number four." Still, its economists do not expect the Federal Open Market Committee to abandon its "measured" tightening of the U.S. money supply anytime soon. "Fed Chairman [Alan] Greenspan et al are likely to look at the average nonfarm payroll numbers over the past three months just a shade below 160,000 and conclude that the labor market is still robust, even if that tally is below the 190,000 average over the prior three months," says Merrill.

Popular Sponsored Recommendations

Lean Manufacturing in the Age of the Industrial Internet

Oct. 24, 2023
Read how advanced MES capabilities can help you improve your labor utilization, reduce WIP, and optimize your production. Download the white paper today.

Gain a competitive edge with real-world lessons on private 5G networks

Nov. 16, 2023
The use of private networks in manufacturing applications is rapidly growing. In this paper, we present valuable insights and lessons learned from the field with the goal of enhancing...

Digitally Transforming Data and Processes With Product Lifecycle Management

Oct. 29, 2023
Manufacturers face increasing challenges in product development as they strive to consistently deliver improved results. Discover how industry leaders are improving time-to-market...

The Benefits of Continuous Thermal Monitoring

Oct. 17, 2023
Read this eBook to learn more about collecting and using data intelligently to improve performance.

Voice your opinion!

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