(What’s Left of) Our Economy: New Official Data Shows First U.S. Manufacturing Jobs Gain in More Than a Year
Is this competence or optics?
Three big manufacturing takeaways from today’s surprisingly good official U.S. jobs report (for January):
First, U.S.-based industry added 5,000 jobs on net – its first monthly increase since November, 2024.
Second, revisions were negative. December’s initial estimate of 8,000 manufacturing jobs lost month-on-month was unchanged, but November’s downwardly revised figure of 2,000 was boosted all the way up to a 10,000 drop – the worst since an identical sequential plunge last August – and October’s downwardly revised 9,000 decrease remained unchanged.
Third, due to the annual benchmark revision released today by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistic (BLS), the manufacturing jobs record compiled so far by the tariff-heavy second Trump administration looks even better than that of its predecessor than it had before these latest numbers came out.
Not that manufacturing’s employment performance under Trump 2.0 has been anything to brag about. But as of the previous jobs report, between last February (the first full month of President Trump’s second term) through December, manufacturing payrolls were down by 71,000. During the same period during the pre-tariff-y Biden administration in 2024, such job loss totaled 93,000 – and that with massive subsidies for green manufacturing.
Yet the benchmark revision cut the number of manufacturing jobs created between March, 2024 and March, 2025 by 98,000 – a mainly Biden administration period. As a result, the manufacturing jobs decline during the first eleven months of Trump 2.0 was downgraded from 71,000 to 81,000. But the reduction during the final eleven Biden months was upgraded all the way from 93,000 to 179,000.
In other words, although the Trump 2.0 performance looks a little worse, the comparable Biden performance was nearly twice as bad, and so far has been more than twice as bad as that of the second Trump administration.
A story at least as good from a Trump-ian and tariff-y standpoint can be told by the figures since President Trump began imposing huge tariffs (since then somewhat reduced) on “Liberation Day” last April.
Even before today’s benchmark revision, between April and December, 2025, the Trump manufacturing jobs record (72,000 lost) was better than that recorded during the same Biden stretch in 2024 stretch (87,000 lost).
But the revision widens the gap tremendously. Between this April (“Liberation Day” month) and December, domestic industry’s employment fell by the same 72,000 (because the revision only went up to the previous month). During the same pre-tariff period in 2024 under President Biden, however, that manufacturing job loss soared to 160,000 – nearly doubling.
Among the broadest industry groups tracked by BLS, the biggest jobs winners in January were:
>the very big transportation equipment cluster, which generated 4,800 net new jobs. The gain was the third straight and the increase the biggest since last July’s 6,300;
>nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing industry, which increased payrolls by 1,700 for its best monthly result since last September’s 2,000;
>electrical equipment, appliance, and components makers, who added 1,400 …
Is this competence or optics?
Three big manufacturing takeaways from today’s surprisingly good official U.S. jobs report (for January):
First, U.S.-based industry added 5,000 jobs on net – its first monthly increase since November, 2024.
Second, revisions were negative. December’s initial estimate of 8,000 manufacturing jobs lost month-on-month was unchanged, but November’s downwardly revised figure of 2,000 was boosted all the way up to a 10,000 drop – the worst since an identical sequential plunge last August – and October’s downwardly revised 9,000 decrease remained unchanged.
Third, due to the annual benchmark revision released today by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistic (BLS), the manufacturing jobs record compiled so far by the tariff-heavy second Trump administration looks even better than that of its predecessor than it had before these latest numbers came out.
Not that manufacturing’s employment performance under Trump 2.0 has been anything to brag about. But as of the previous jobs report, between last February (the first full month of President Trump’s second term) through December, manufacturing payrolls were down by 71,000. During the same period during the pre-tariff-y Biden administration in 2024, such job loss totaled 93,000 – and that with massive subsidies for green manufacturing.
Yet the benchmark revision cut the number of manufacturing jobs created between March, 2024 and March, 2025 by 98,000 – a mainly Biden administration period. As a result, the manufacturing jobs decline during the first eleven months of Trump 2.0 was downgraded from 71,000 to 81,000. But the reduction during the final eleven Biden months was upgraded all the way from 93,000 to 179,000.
In other words, although the Trump 2.0 performance looks a little worse, the comparable Biden performance was nearly twice as bad, and so far has been more than twice as bad as that of the second Trump administration.
A story at least as good from a Trump-ian and tariff-y standpoint can be told by the figures since President Trump began imposing huge tariffs (since then somewhat reduced) on “Liberation Day” last April.
Even before today’s benchmark revision, between April and December, 2025, the Trump manufacturing jobs record (72,000 lost) was better than that recorded during the same Biden stretch in 2024 stretch (87,000 lost).
But the revision widens the gap tremendously. Between this April (“Liberation Day” month) and December, domestic industry’s employment fell by the same 72,000 (because the revision only went up to the previous month). During the same pre-tariff period in 2024 under President Biden, however, that manufacturing job loss soared to 160,000 – nearly doubling.
Among the broadest industry groups tracked by BLS, the biggest jobs winners in January were:
>the very big transportation equipment cluster, which generated 4,800 net new jobs. The gain was the third straight and the increase the biggest since last July’s 6,300;
>nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing industry, which increased payrolls by 1,700 for its best monthly result since last September’s 2,000;
>electrical equipment, appliance, and components makers, who added 1,400 …
(What’s Left of) Our Economy: New Official Data Shows First U.S. Manufacturing Jobs Gain in More Than a Year
Is this competence or optics?
Three big manufacturing takeaways from today’s surprisingly good official U.S. jobs report (for January):
First, U.S.-based industry added 5,000 jobs on net – its first monthly increase since November, 2024.
Second, revisions were negative. December’s initial estimate of 8,000 manufacturing jobs lost month-on-month was unchanged, but November’s downwardly revised figure of 2,000 was boosted all the way up to a 10,000 drop – the worst since an identical sequential plunge last August – and October’s downwardly revised 9,000 decrease remained unchanged.
Third, due to the annual benchmark revision released today by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistic (BLS), the manufacturing jobs record compiled so far by the tariff-heavy second Trump administration looks even better than that of its predecessor than it had before these latest numbers came out.
Not that manufacturing’s employment performance under Trump 2.0 has been anything to brag about. But as of the previous jobs report, between last February (the first full month of President Trump’s second term) through December, manufacturing payrolls were down by 71,000. During the same period during the pre-tariff-y Biden administration in 2024, such job loss totaled 93,000 – and that with massive subsidies for green manufacturing.
Yet the benchmark revision cut the number of manufacturing jobs created between March, 2024 and March, 2025 by 98,000 – a mainly Biden administration period. As a result, the manufacturing jobs decline during the first eleven months of Trump 2.0 was downgraded from 71,000 to 81,000. But the reduction during the final eleven Biden months was upgraded all the way from 93,000 to 179,000.
In other words, although the Trump 2.0 performance looks a little worse, the comparable Biden performance was nearly twice as bad, and so far has been more than twice as bad as that of the second Trump administration.
A story at least as good from a Trump-ian and tariff-y standpoint can be told by the figures since President Trump began imposing huge tariffs (since then somewhat reduced) on “Liberation Day” last April.
Even before today’s benchmark revision, between April and December, 2025, the Trump manufacturing jobs record (72,000 lost) was better than that recorded during the same Biden stretch in 2024 stretch (87,000 lost).
But the revision widens the gap tremendously. Between this April (“Liberation Day” month) and December, domestic industry’s employment fell by the same 72,000 (because the revision only went up to the previous month). During the same pre-tariff period in 2024 under President Biden, however, that manufacturing job loss soared to 160,000 – nearly doubling.
Among the broadest industry groups tracked by BLS, the biggest jobs winners in January were:
>the very big transportation equipment cluster, which generated 4,800 net new jobs. The gain was the third straight and the increase the biggest since last July’s 6,300;
>nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing industry, which increased payrolls by 1,700 for its best monthly result since last September’s 2,000;
>electrical equipment, appliance, and components makers, who added 1,400 …
