Labor Market by the Numbers
The big number: The number of manufacturing quits decreased to 203,000 in February. After revisions, the number of manufacturing quits in January registered 229,000. This is a sign that churn, which has been a major issue for manufacturers amid a tight labor market, has decreased to pre-pandemic levels, quits averaged 203,000 per month pre-pandemic (2017-2019). A sign that job seekers may be less confident in their ability to find a new job if they quit their current one.
Job postings: There were 583,000 manufacturing job openings in February, down from 596,000 job openings in January. Across the broader economy there were 8,756,000 nonfarm business job openings. Both remained above pre-pandemic levels.
- Durable goods manufacturing job posting increased in February to 361,000 from 348,000 in January. The losses were seen in nondurable goods manufacturing, decreasing to 221,000 open jobs in February from 248,000 jobs in January.
- For every 100 job openings in the U.S. economy, there were 73.8 unemployed workers.
- As such, there continued to be significantly more job openings than people actively looking for work, even as that ratio narrowed notably in 2023. One year ago, there were only 60 unemployed workers for every 100 open jobs.
Manufacturing employment: Manufacturing employment remained flat in March, with 12,956,000 manufacturing employees in March 2024 remaining above pre-pandemic levels. Pre-pandemic (2017-2019) the sector averaged 12,648,000 employees per month. Durable goods manufacturing added 4,000 employees while non-durable goods manufacturing lost 4,000 employees in the sector. For durable goods, transportation equipment manufacturing saw the largest increase with 11,400 employees added while non-durable goods saw the largest decrease in beverage, tobacco, and leather and allied product manufacturing industry, losing 3,500 employees.
- The average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers in manufacturing rose 0.6% to $27.48 in March, with 5.9% growth over the past 12 months. This is the highest wage growth for the industry over a 12-month period since April 2022. As such, wages continue to rise strongly despite softer hiring over the past year.
- Manufacturers continue to cite workforce challenges as their top concern.
Nonfarm payrolls: Nonfarm employment jumped to 303,000 in March, building on a downwardly revised 270,000 in February and well above consensus expectation of 200,000. March’s report came in above the average monthly gain of 236,000 over the prior 12 months.
- The unemployment rate decreased to 3.8%, with the number of unemployed Americans falling from 6,458,000 to 6,429,000.
- The labor force participation rate increased for the first time since November in March at 62.7%, up from 62.5% in the prior three months.
Key takeaway: The labor market data continues to show strength in the U.S. economy. Some key indicators returning to pre-pandemic level, such as the level of quits, which takes pressure of manufacturers to fill more positions. Another encouraging indicator is the increase in the labor market participation rate, a sign that more Americans are rejoining the workforce.
