Workforce News

The U.S. added more jobs than expected in September, but manufacturing employment declined for the fifth consecutive month, according to long-awaited employment data out today from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

What’s going on: Nonfarm payrolls increased by 119,000 in September, higher than forecast, while manufacturing jobs slipped by 6,000.

• In addition, job gains for both July and August were revised downward to a gain of 72,000 positions and a loss of 4,000 positions, respectively, with the 12-month average now standing at a gain of 109,000 jobs per month.
• The unemployment and labor force participation rates each inched up 0.1%, to 4.4% and 62.4%, respectively.

Focus on manufacturing: Manufacturing’s collective job losses of 14,000 in July and August were revised downward to a loss of 24,000 positions.

• Employment in the industry has declined 94,000 over the year, the most of any sector.
• Durable goods manufacturing employment dipped by 4,000 in September, while employment in nondurable goods decreased by 2,000.
• The industry’s biggest gains were in beverage, tobacco and leather and allied product manufacturing, which added 3,300 jobs in September.

Earnings and workweeks: Average hourly earnings for all private, nonfarm payroll employees increased 0.2%, reaching $36.67.

• In the past 12 months, employee earnings have gone up 3.8%.
• The average workweek for all employees stayed the same at 34.2 hours, but for manufacturing workers, it moved down 0.1 hour to 39.9 hours.

On the October jobs front: This is the only jobs snapshot we will see until December, after the government shutdown prevented the BLS from collecting key data, according to the agency. The BLS will instead fold October payroll figures into the full November jobs report—without an unemployment rate for October ( CNBC).

The federal Registered Apprenticeship program has the potential to help alleviate some of the manufacturing sector’s labor shortage—but it needs strengthening and streamlining to do so, Manufacturing Institute Chief Program Officer Gardner Carrick told the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Wednesday.

What’s going on: “Registered Apprenticeship has an opportunity to play a significant role in the growth and scaling of the apprenticeship model in manufacturing,” Carrick said at the hearing “Registered Apprenticeship: Scaling the Workforce for the Future.” “But the program must be value-added.”

• In July, the MI—the NAM’s 501(c)3 workforce development and education affiliate—released “Manufacturing America’s Talent,” its workforce-system improvement roadmap that includes key recommendations for bettering the federal RA program framework.

FAME gives employers what they need: Apprenticeship works, Carrick said, pointing to the MI’s Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) program as evidence. FAME was started in 2010 by Toyota and is today fully run by the MI.

• But for the RA program to work as well—and help fill the many open manufacturing jobs, forecast to reach 3.8 million by 2033 if current trends continue—the federal government must provide flexibility to allow employers to tailor the program’s offerings to their real-world skill needs.
• The fact that just 15% of FAME participants are registered apprentices is evidence that the current system is not meeting needs, Carrick continued.

What should be done: The RA program “must be employer-led, offer a sensible balance between benefits and costs and support the infrastructure needs of our education partners to deliver the skills and competencies that manufacturers are actually asking for.”

What success looks like: Today, FAME works with nearly 500 companies in 45 locations across 17 states. Its graduates—highly skilled maintenance technicians—have a 95% full-time employment rate.

• One study shows that five years after finishing the program, FAME graduates were earning just under six figures annually, Carrick said.
• “In FAME, we achieve these levels of success because the model is employer-led, which means we teach the skills that employers actually demand.”

Read the whole thing: You can read Carrick’s full written testimony here.

Manufacturing in the U.S. is seeing major benefits from the Trump administration’s tax and regulatory policies—but more must be done to unlock a manufacturing investment boom, NAM Managing Vice President of Policy Charles Crain said at the recent Financial Times–Nikkei Investing in America Summit.

What’s going on: The tax bill’s pro-manufacturing policies—including immediate expensing for factory construction, capital equipment purchases and research spending—“set the stage for manufacturing growth and investment here in the United States,” Crain told FT Economics Editor Claire Jones.

• The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was, in the president’s words, “rocket fuel” for manufacturing, Crain continued, and this year’s tax bill, preserving and expanding the TCJA, should have a similar effect on the industry.
• But “the question is … what impact do other policies have? Do they set a cap on the ‘rocket fuel’ that the tax and regulatory agenda should create? Or do they further unleash manufacturing investment and growth?”
• Crain noted that there are still significant opportunities on the table for Congress and the administration: comprehensive permitting reform to “get shovels in the ground” on critical projects, workforce solutions to reskill the manufacturing workforce and fill the industry’s 400,000 open jobs and commonsense trade policies to ensure manufacturers can make things in America and sell them abroad.

Aligning trade and tax policies: At maximum production capacity, the U.S. can make approximately 84% of the inputs needed for manufacturers to make things domestically, Crain said, and the economy currently produces about 67% of necessary inputs.

• Manufacturers must “have access to the inputs they need,” including both raw materials as well as equipment and machinery that are often “specialized for the modern manufacturing economy” and only available outside the U.S.
• Crain highlighted the variety of manufacturing investment announcements driven by the president’s tax and regulatory agenda, but noted that some manufacturers have been unable to import specialized machinery necessary to get those investments off the ground.
• He added that the NAM has been urging the administration “to ensure that trade policies align with the tax and regulatory policies that drive our industry’s growth here in the U.S.”

Immigration and workforce: Manufacturing in America requires a highly skilled labor pool, so the sector supports the use of H-1B visas, which Crain called “critically important to the industry.”

• The industry also needs what Crain called “manufacturing-skilled talent,” in important occupations such as technicians, welders, machinists and electricians. He noted the industry’s efforts to build a domestic supply of these workers, but also said that manufacturers need an immigration solution to fill those skills gaps.
• Manufacturers are committed to producing their needed talent in the U.S., partnering with community colleges and participating in workforce-development programs, such as the Manufacturing Institute’s Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) and Heroes MAKE America initiatives.

The AI effect: Artificial intelligence has been a boon to the industry, according to Crain—and the industry is working to ensure its workers have the skills they need to leverage this exciting technology.

• “AI poses tremendous promise for manufacturing,” he told Jones. “Our shop floors are more interconnected and more modern now than they ever have been,” and companies are using AI to “drive efficiency, to design products, to improve worker safety, to improve their supply chains” and more.
• At the same time, “we need the workers who come into the sector as well as the workers who are currently in the sector to be trained to utilize and to work with AI to actually be able to maximize the productivity gains that AI presents.”

Kentucky is one of the top manufacturing states in the U.S.—and the Kentucky Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) is helping keep it that way (Spectrum News 1).

• The state has more than 6,000 manufacturing facilities that together employ more than 260,000 residents and contribute over $47 billion each year to the state’s GDP.

What’s going on: KY FAME represents the Bluegrass State as part of the FAME USA network. FAME is the workforce initiative founded by Toyota and is today supported by the Manufacturing Institute, the 501(c)3 workforce development and education affiliate of the NAM.

• FAME USA, which has eight chapters across Kentucky, develops highly skilled, professional manufacturing talent using a “dual-education apprenticeship style [that] means students earn a full-time salary while they learn, an Advanced Manufacturing Technician certificate and an associate’s degree in two years’ time.”

Why it’s important: Kentucky, like the rest of the U.S., has long experienced a dearth of skilled manufacturing workers. KY FAME is helping build its own pool of talent with a dedicated and novel earn-while-you-learn model that is appealing to both students and manufacturers.

• Program participants work three days a week, Gene Fife, program coordinator of the Greater Louisville Chapter of KY FAME, told Spectrum News 1. “They’re coming to school for two days a week. One that allows them to perhaps graduate debt-free, and they have some money in their pocket for a reward for their hard work.”

Hopeful outlook: Manufacturing jobs in the state are still increasing due to advancements in technology and Kentucky’s growing industrial market.

• “I believe manufacturing is never going to go away,” Fife said. “The advent in AI and a lot of other things have really helped, and with robotics and things like that, we are able to do things in manufacturing we weren’t able to do as little as five years ago. But you always need that person [who] can fix it when it breaks.”

What participants say: “This program as a whole is phenomenal,” said Wyatt Drury, who is in his second year with the Greater Louisville Chapter of KY FAME, working as a maintenance technician at a local carbon steel pipe and tubing manufacturer.

• “It’s helped me out tremendously, and even if my company doesn’t want to hire me, I have open opportunities to go anywhere.”

The last word: “FAME is proof that when manufacturers take the lead in developing their own workforce, everyone benefits—students, companies and communities,” said MI President and Executive Director Carolyn Lee “The Kentucky chapters continue to deliver the skilled talent our industry needs to keep growing and innovating.”

Get involved: Interested in learning more about FAME USA? Go to fame-usa.com to learn more.

Washington, D.C. (November 5, 2025) – Today, Manufacturing Institute Chief Program Officer Gardner Carrick testified before the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee for a hearing on “Registered Apprenticeship: Scaling the Workforce for the Future.”

In his testimony, Carrick illustrated the ongoing workforce challenges facing manufacturers—who face a potential shortage of 3.8 million workers by 2033—and shared the opportunities to strengthen and streamline the federal Registered Apprenticeship program and success stories from the MI’s Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME USA) program.

Photo Credit: Joshua Roberts

Watch the video of the full committee hearing here

In his opening remarks, Carrick iterated to the committee:

“Registered Apprenticeship has the opportunity to play a significant role in the growth and scaling of the apprenticeship model in manufacturing. But the program must be

value added, which in manufacturing means it must be employer-led, offer a sensible balance between benefits and costs and support the infrastructure needs of our education partners to deliver the skills and competencies that manufacturers are actually asking for.

“We know apprenticeship works. I see it every time I look at the FAME outcomes. I hear it every time I listen to companies … describe their success. And I feel it every time I visit with FAME students as they describe how it has changed their lives.”

Read Carrick’s full written testimony here.

BACKGROUND

In July, the MI—the workforce development and education affiliate of the NAM—released “Manufacturing America’s Talent,” its workforce blueprint to modernize the federal workforce system and expand employer-led apprenticeship opportunities, which includes key recommendations that would improve the federal Registered Apprenticeship program.

-The MI-

The Manufacturing Institute works to build and strengthen the manufacturing workforce for individual opportunity, community prosperity and a competitive manufacturing industry for the future, through implementing groundbreaking programs, convening industry leaders and conducting innovative research. As the 501(c)3 nonprofit workforce development and education affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers, the MI is a trusted adviser to manufacturers, equipping them with solutions to address the toughest workforce issues. For more information on the MI, please visit www.themanufacturinginstitute.org.

Call it an AI double-header: On Wednesday, NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons and Manufacturing Institute President and Executive Director Carolyn Lee spoke at two different AI-focused events—one hosted by Siemens and Widehall and the other hosted by NVIDIA—where they outlined manufacturers’ policy and workforce priorities.

• Siemens and Widehall: Timmons and Lee both participated in a fireside chat at Shaping an AI Ready Workforce, part of a series of events called AI for Real: DC that is sponsored by Siemens and Widehall.
• NVIDIA: Later in the day, Timmons spoke on a panel called “How AI Factories Can Drive Local Economic Development” at NVIDIA’s GTC DC conference.

Policy environment: Timmons said, of the current policy environment, “If you look back on 2017 and the tax reform plan that was put in place, the president actually announced his plan at our board meeting, and he said at the time it would be rocket fuel, and it really was….That was very important in terms of investment opportunities and job creation, regulatory certainty and modernization, [which are all essential for] energy policy.”

• “We’re very pleased that the administration is focused on energy—they call it energy dominance. That is going to be incredibly important for AI data centers [and AI-enabled factories].”
• “We want everybody to know what manufacturing is all about, why it’s modern, why it’s sleek, why it’s technology driven, and very different from [when] my grandfather was in manufacturing.”

Workforce outlook: Lee joined Timmons onstage at the Siemens-Widehall event:

• “We have to change the narrative around manufacturing. Part of that is seeing facilities like Siemens that are bright and clean and full of technology, and we know that the students today actually gravitate to that. They’re digital natives. I’m not. Most of us in this room are probably not. So [we need to] lean into that and let them see that there’s an opportunity for them, and in doing so, they’re strengthening their communities.”

AI and the workforce: Lee also addressed how the workforce can adapt to the advent of AI, saying “It is about learning the skills. It’s about adapting. It’s making sure that manufacturing and our communities can be competitive…. None of us can do this alone. All of us need to come together.”

• “As much as policy can enable this, policy is not going to solve this. We need to have employers first [drawing up] the agenda, working with the educational institutions to make sure that our education partners understand what is happening in our industries and training to those needs.”
• “We run the most successful multi-employer apprenticeship program that’s operating now in 20 states, and it continues to grow…. Companies see that coming together to build the solutions and train the common core of the workforce is good for all of us.”

At NVIDIA: Timmons again addresses the use of AI in manufacturing at NVIDIA’s conference, saying, “The truth of the matter is, every form of technology through decades has begun with manufacturing. Right now, we have about 50% of manufacturers across America [that] have AI in their operations.”

The roadmap to AI and Energy Dominance: “Today, we came out with a report about AI and energy dominance, the manufacturer’s roadmap, and basically it’s [saying] that we need an incredible amount of additional capacity on the grid to be able to power these AI factors or data centers and in order to serve the needs of the broader economy.”

Policy fixes: Timmons spoke of the need for bipartisan agreement, and for certain commonsense policy changes.

• “[I]f we turned on every factory right now in this country, and we put every manufacturing worker on the line, we could only produce 84%of the critical inputs necessary to build a new factory right here in United States…. So at a minimum, we have to import 16% of those critical inputs.”
• “What we need to see is some sort of a speed pass, to provide duty free access to those critical inputs for additional manufacturing capacity until we can build it here ourselves.”

The last word: “We need to have a nonpolitical and very much a policy century,” Timmons said in conclusion.

ICYMI: Read our full story on the Manufacturing’s Roadmap to AI and Energy Dominance.

Thermo Fisher Scientific’s brand-new facility in Mebane, North Carolina, represents a big step forward for medical supply chains in the U.S.—and it’s all thanks to cutting-edge automation, overseen by workers drawn from one of the country’s hotspots for medical manufacturing talent.

The big numbers: The facility, whose grand opening was attended by North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein in August, is capable of producing an impressive 40 million precision pipette tips per week—crucial components that enable precise liquid handling in everything from clinical diagnostics to pharmaceutical research.

• The facility will create more than 100 jobs in total, including many highly skilled (and paid) automation engineer positions.
• The opening follows Thermo Fisher’s announcement earlier this year that it would commit $2 billion in investments in its U.S. manufacturing capabilities over the next four years.

The post-COVID-19 landscape: The company started working on the Mebane project after the COVID-19 pandemic, during which there was a shortage of tips, said Thermo Fisher President of Laboratory Chemicals and Laboratory Plastic Essentials Erica Hirsch.

• Thermo Fisher worked with the Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies to understand the problem with the domestic supply chain, she said.
• The answer? The company would need to invest in high-quality automation tip manufacturing, which could be scaled up as needed—especially important in the case of another pandemic.

The automation: As Thermo Fisher had learned from its operations at other facilities, the best plan for tip manufacturing is to focus on automation.

• Automation is essential to ensure consistent quality and reproducibility, not to mention a high volume of production, said Hirsch.
• The Mebane facility was a “dream opportunity,” she said, to create a highly automated facility from the ground up, instead of adding automation to an existing facility.
• The standards were high: the production lines have little direct human involvement, again to ensure every tip is as precisely engineered as possible. Each line is managed by a highly skilled technician.

The big picture: The COVID-19 pandemic also taught the company the importance of shoring up domestic supply chains and building in redundancy. In fact, said Hirsch, having redundant facilities in every region in the world has become a priority, both due to the lessons of the pandemic and to rising geopolitical tensions.

• The company has more than 7,800 workers in North Carolina, one of its major bases of operations in the U.S. Its North Carolina facilities do everything from conducting clinical research and producing pharmaceuticals to manufacturing laboratory products.

Workforce: Hirsch emphasized the close relationship that Thermo Fisher has with local trade schools and colleges, ensuring it can staff advanced manufacturing facilities like the one in Mebane.

• The company works to recruit locally and has many apprenticeship programs, including for the automation engineers at the Mebane plant.
• Mold and machine makers are also high on its list of skilled workers to train, through apprenticeships, internships and more.
• “We need to make sure we have a skilled workforce, and a workforce that spans all stages of careers,” said Hirsch.

AI: With AI on the industry’s mind, Thermo Fisher is leading the pack in integrating AI tools into all its processes, including at Mebane.

• Earlier this month, Thermo Fisher announced a partnership with OpenAI that focuses on accelerating scientific innovation, enhancing productivity and reducing complexity. As part of the collaboration, Thermo Fisher is embedding OpenAI Application Programming Interfaces into critical areas of its business—ranging from product development, service delivery, customer engagement and operational efficiency.
• AI will be critical for Mebane as it is a highly automated, data-driven facility, said Hirsch.

Looking ahead: Thermo Fisher continues to be committed to offering products that combine high-quality scientific expertise with industry-leading technologies, helping its customers to accelerate life-sciences research and develop new therapies for patients who are waiting, said Hirsch.

• “The company’s mission—to enable its customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer—fuels the passion of its colleagues and drives the many contributions they make each day,” she added.

Photo credit: Office of Governor Josh Stein

In an ever-changing world, collaboration is more necessary than ever for solving the challenges facing our manufacturing workforce. Last week, in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Manufacturing Institute’s annual Workforce Summit united more than 300 industry leaders to do just that, tackling workforce challenges while redefining what manufacturing represents for tomorrow.

The backdrop: MI Chief Program Officer Gardner Carrick opened the summit by highlighting a shift in public perception. Americans view manufacturing more positively now, and attitudes toward education and career pathways are evolving. As confidence in the value of a traditional four-year degree declines, new opportunities are emerging for skills-based careers in modern manufacturing.

• But, Carrick noted, the industry must stay on the offensive. “The next generation of workers doesn’t need convincing that technology is exciting; they live it,” he said.
• “The story isn’t that we’ve changed; it’s that we’re leading,” Carrick concluded. “And that’s what will inspire the next generation.”

Quick insight: Participants at the summit, who came from dozens of manufacturing sectors and many nonprofit and partner organizations, discussed practical, transformative solutions in every session. Here are some of the big takeaways:

• Rethink education: ABB’s Jason Green emphasized the need to get technology into the hands of students early and to reimagine career and technical education, including real-world learning and applications. Apprenticeships built on company needs can help create talent pipelines that are both practical and custom-fit.
• Invest in culture: Lisa Winton of Winton Machine explained why she views culture as a competitive advantage, especially for small manufacturers. Her team leverages local training resources and encourages multigenerational learning, where mentorship flows both ways.
• Design for flexibility: Amatrol’s Paul Perkins urged companies to mold jobs around people, not the other way around. By creating fluid career paths and removing unnecessary barriers, manufacturers can use mobility itself as an attraction strategy.
• Focus on skills: Walmart.org’s Sean Murphy and the MI’s Sytease Geib highlighted skills-based strategies that strengthen pipelines, accelerate and validate learning, enhance retention and unlock meaningful career growth.
• Empowering the frontline: Jerry Dolinsky, CEO of Dozuki, and Dr. Rebecca Powers Teeters of 3M highlighted how AI-driven digital tools can help frontline workers. Connected workers can bridge skills gaps, boost engagement and drive productivity, while practical AI applications create smarter workflows, enhance safety and foster continuous learning and innovation.

Parting words: “The momentum, the environment, the atmosphere surrounding what we do will continue to evolve, and we know that we can solve our problems if the industry is tackling them together,” said MI President and Executive Director Carolyn Lee. “The MI will continue to be here to support you.”

Couldn’t make it this time? The MI, the NAM’s 501(c)3 workforce development and education affiliate, works year-round to help companies strengthen their workforce and deliver innovative solutions to workforce challenges. Here are some ways to get involved:

• Sign up for updates to the MI’s Solutions Center for resources, best practices and opportunities to learn from peers through the Solutions Series. Explore our regularly scheduled virtual convenings as part of the Solutions Series to see how manufacturers across the country are addressing workforce challenges.
• Get updates directly from the MI on the latest workforce insights and be among the first to receive information about upcoming events and to register for next year’s Workforce Summit, taking place in Indianapolis, Indiana.
• Want more labor data and insights? Sign up for the MI’s comprehensive Workforce in Focus newsletter to stay up to date on the latest workforce trends.

The GE Aerospace Foundation has made a $500,000 commitment to the Manufacturing Institute’s Heroes MAKE America initiative, which provides training and certifications for veterans and other members of the military community seeking new careers in manufacturing. (The MI is the NAM’s workforce development and education affiliate.)

The details: The grant will fund the creation of a new accelerated Federal Aviation Administration Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) Certification training program at Fort Bragg in North Carolina in collaboration with Fayetteville Technical Community College.

• The new A&P training program at Fort Bragg will launch in 2026 and will train transitioning servicemembers and veterans to earn the certifications they need to take in-demand jobs in the aerospace industry.
• Fort Bragg is already home to the HMA’s Department of Defense SkillBridge-approved logistics certification training course.

GE Aerospace says: “As we continue to advance the future of flight, it is critical that we invest in developing talent to help us build it and bring it to life,” said GE Aerospace Chief Human Resources Officer and GE Aerospace Foundation Chair Christian Meisner.

• “We look forward to working alongside our partners to reinforce North Carolina’s long-standing leadership as the first in flight and keystone of the aviation manufacturing industry.”

The MI says: “We are thrilled to join forces with the GE Aerospace Foundation to expand Heroes MAKE America and ensure our veterans have the skills needed to integrate into the manufacturing workforce,” added MI President and Executive Director Carolyn Lee.

• “We are committed to providing the resources and opportunities to empower today’s American heroes to become tomorrow’s manufacturing leaders.”

The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index dropped 2 points to 98.8 in September, remaining slightly above the 52-year average of 98. September’s decrease was due primarily to a decline in the share of small business owners expecting better business conditions and an increase in reports of excess inventory. Of the 10 components included in the index, two increased, five decreased and three stayed the same. Meanwhile, the Uncertainty Index rose 7 points to 100, the fourth-highest reading in over 51 years and well above the 51-year average (68) and the average since 2016 (80).

Labor quality and taxes tied as the top concern for small business owners, with 18% reporting each as the most important problem. Business owners continue to struggle to fill positions despite openings trending down, with 32% of small business owners reporting jobs they could not fill in September, unchanged from August. The share of small business owners in September reporting taxes as a top problem increased 1% from August, with some noting high property taxes in particular. Meanwhile, inflation ranked third in the list of concerns, with 14% reporting it as a top problem, up 3 points from August. Looking forward, a net 31% plan to increase prices in anticipation of rising tariff costs, up 5 points from August.

A net 31% of small business owners reported raising compensation, up 2 points in September after increasing 2 points in August. Meanwhile, 19% of business owners plan to raise compensation in the next three months, down 1 point from August. Pressure on profitability continued to ease, improving 3 points from August to a net negative 16%. Among owners reporting lower profits, 33% blamed weaker sales, 17% cited increased material costs, 10% noted price changes for their product(s) or services(s) and 9% said labor costs. Meanwhile, 7% reported their last loan was harder to get than previous attempts, up 4 points from August, and a net 7% of owners cited paying a higher rate on their most recent loan, up 1 point from the prior month.

The outlook for general business conditions fell 11 points to 23%, still a positive read by historical standards. Additionally, 11% reported that it is a good time to expand their business, down 3 points from August, a rather weak read compared to times of economic expansion. Overall, small business owners remain relatively optimistic, but uncertainty remains very high.