Workforce in Focus

Labor Market by the Numbers

By MI NewsroomNovember 9, 2023

The big number: The number of manufacturing quits has fallen to 216,000 in September, the slowest since July 2020.

  • This is a sign that churn, which has been a major issue for manufacturers amid a tight labor market, has eased significantly, approaching pre-pandemic levels.
  • The average number of quits per month in the 2017–2019 period was 203,000.

Manufacturing job openings: There were 627,000 manufacturing job openings in September, up from 604,000 in August. Durable and nondurable goods manufacturers both reported higher job postings in September.

  • Overall, these data continue to reflect a labor market that remains solid despite cooling over the past year, with manufacturing job openings above pre-pandemic levels.
  • Over the past six months, manufacturing job openings have averaged 605,000, down from 750,333 in the prior six months.

Job openings overall: Nonfarm business job openings rose to 9.553,000 in September, with 6,360,000 unemployed Americans for the month.

  • Therefore, for every 1.5 job openings in the U.S. economy, there was just one unemployed worker. As such, job openings continue to outpace the number of people actively looking for work, even as that ratio has narrowed significantly year to date.

Manufacturing jobs: Manufacturing employment fell by 35,000 in October. Strikes in the automotive industry accounted for the bulk of that decline, with employment in the motor vehicles and parts sector dropping by 33,200.

  • Hiring has been quite sluggish this year among manufacturers, with the sector losing 14,000 workers year to date.
  • The manufacturing sector had 12,960,000 workers in October, down from 12,995,000 workers in September, which was the best reading since November 2008.

Wages: The average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers in manufacturing rose 0.2% to $26.68 in October, achieving 5.1% growth over the past 12 months.

Nonfarm payrolls: Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 150,000 in October, down from a revised 297,000 in September.

  • Despite some easing, the U.S. economy has added 2,388,000 workers through the first 10 months of 2023, a solid pace.
  • The labor force participation rate edged down from 62.8% to 62.7%, and the number of employed workers decreased from a record 161,570,000 in September to 161,222,000 in October.
  • The unemployment rate inched up from 3.8% in September to 3.9% in October, the highest since January 2021, with the number of unemployed Americans rising from 6,360,000 to 6,506,000.

Key takeaway: Total manufacturing employment, while relatively flat this year, has remained largely resilient despite a challenging economic environment in the sector.