Manufacturing loses 13,000 jobs in September
The manufacturing sector lost 13,000 jobs last month, according to the latest employment data from the Labor Department. It's the third month in a row that manufacturing has lost jobs, and comes as presidential candidates head to St Louis, a city with a complex history of manufacturing.
Said Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) President Scott Paul:
"There is no doubt that factory workers face some tough times even while we celebrate future opportunities on Manufacturing Day. Slow global economic growth, plateauing auto sales, China’s massive industrial overcapacity, and underinvestment in our own infrastructure will make it difficult to add a lot of new factory jobs without serious policy shifts.
"That’s why we’re bringing some focus on policy to the presidential debates. And it’s why we’ve published Unmade in America, which examines the impact of deindustrialization on black communities.
"I am confident there will be many new opportunities for jobs in manufacturing, and there is much to celebrate about the virtues of making in America. But our leaders must know that policies matter."
Learn more about the recently released Unmade in America: Industrial Flight and the Decline of Black Communities and watch author Gerald Taylor discuss its findings on YouTube.
The #AAMeter, which tracks President Obama's goal to create 1 million new manufacturing jobs, now sits at +302,000 jobs. That means there would need to be over 174,000 new manufacturing jobs created each month for Obama to hit his goal.