This week’s economic data doesn’t bode well for factory work.
The first week of each month brings fresh data on the state of the U.S. economy. And the data isn’t painting a pretty picture for manufacturing this time around.
The Department of Labor reported on Friday that manufacturing lost 17,000 jobs in August. You read that right, 17,000. Wooofffffff. That brings the #AAMeter, which tracks President Obama's promise to create 1 million new manufacturing jobs in his second term, down 21,000 jobs to 382,000.
“That was a terrible jobs report for manufacturing,” said Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul. “Asian currency devaluations, an overly strong dollar, and weakness in China are all taking their toll on factory jobs.”
Oh yeah, China: the country that recently devalued their currency sending international markets into a tail spin. And we haven’t even seen the full effect of this devaluation (because trade data lags two months). The Department of Commerce reported Tuesday that the U.S. clocked the highest monthly trade deficit with China so far this year in July. “Remember, China didn’t devalue the yuan until August, so look for continued deterioration of our trade picture with China,” Paul said.
With an official state visit from President of China Xi Jingping, the Federal Reserve contemplating raising rates, and Congress is back in session, September will prove critical for America’s productive sector. "Manufacturing is more exposed to the global economy than other sectors, so those policy interventions are critically important," Paul concludes.