Manufacturing boosted employment by 19,000 jobs in January, with non-durable goods doing the heavy lifting.
Non-Durable goods industries accounted for 15,000 of the employment gain, according to a breakdown by sector issued today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Within non-durable goods, food manufacturing added 6,900 jobs.
Among durable goods industries, job gainers included non-metallic minerals, up 4,200 jobs, and fabricated metal products, up 3,100.
Jobs losers among durable goods included transportation equipment, down 8,400 jobs. That included a job loss of 6,500 in motor vehicles and parts.
The Federal Reserve Board continues to raise interest rates to cool the economy and lower inflation.
The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index is seen as a leading indicator and a sign of where manufacturing is heading. ISM said this week the index shows the manufacturing economy has contracted for three straight months.
The group has forecast a slow first half for 2023 with improvement in the year’s second half. ISM said this week that manufacturers are holding onto employees despite declining new orders, wanting to be prepared when a rebound occurs.
Manufacturing totaled 12.999 million in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, up from an adjusted 12.98 million in December and 12.617 million in January 2022. Last year, manufacturing added an average of 33,000 jobs a month, the bureau said in a statement.
Total non-farm increased by 517,000 jobs in January, the bureau said. Economists surveyed by Reuters had expected a gain of 185,000 jobs. The U.S. unemployment rate was 3.4 percent in January.
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