Labor Market by the Numbers
The big number: From April 2024 to May 2024, the manufacturing industry experienced the largest increase in job openings since March 2021 – adding 115,000 additional job openings since April.
Job postings: In May 2024, the total number of job openings in the manufacturing industry increased to 603,000, reversing course after declining for the prior three months. This is up from April, where we saw 488,000 manufacturing job openings (downwardly revised from 516,000).
Durable goods job openings increased to 428,000 in May from 331,000 in April. Nondurable goods increased to 174,000, down from 157,000 in April.
Hires decreased to 367,000, from 383,000 in April.
Separation decreased to 357,000 from 383,000 in April.
Quits decreased to 217,000 down from 223,000 in April. Churn has eased from pandemic highs as workers are less likely to quit their jobs without the prospect of finding a new one and should take significant pressure off manufacturers needing to replace talent.
Layoffs and Discharges decreased to 120,000 in May, down from 136,000 in April.
By the numbers: Across the entire economy, there were 8,140,000 job opening in May, up from 7,919,000 in April.
For every 100 job openings in the U.S. economy, there were 81.7 unemployed workers.
- 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. Looking beyond openings, a sustained focus on retention is essential for manufacturers.
Manufacturing employment remained mostly unchanged in June, slightly with 12,950,000 manufacturing employees in June 2024, losing 8,000 employees from May but remaining above pre-pandemic levels. Pre-pandemic (2017-2019) the sector averaged 12,648,000 employees per month.
- Pre-pandemic (2017-2019) the sector averaged 12,648,000 employees per month.
- Durable goods manufacturing lost 10,000 employees while non-durable goods manufacturing gained 2,000 employees in the sector. For durable goods, motor vehicles and parts saw the largest increase with 5,900 employees added while non-durable goods saw the largest increase in food manufacturing, adding 3,100 employees.
Average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers in manufacturing rose 0.4% to $27.79 in June, with 5.7% growth over the past 12 months. As such, wages continue to rise, albeit at a slower rate, despite softer hiring over the past year.
Nonfarm payrolls: Nonfarm employment rose by 206,000 in June, in line with consensus expectation of 200,000.
- The unemployment rate increased to 4.1%, the highest since November 2021 with the number of unemployed Americans increasing from 6,649,000 to 6,811,000. While unemployment has started creeping up the last few months, it still remains near historic lows. The labor force participation rate ticked up to 62.6%.
Key takeaway: The labor market data has been mixed.
- Manufacturing job openings are down from the post pandemic highs, but still elevated.
- The unemployment rate is ticking up slightly, still historically low but a trend to pay attention to.
- Employment and wage growth in the sector remain strong.
Manufacturers continue to cite workforce challenges as their top concern.
