Manufacturing sheds 8,000 jobs in May 2013; 21,000 factory jobs lost in past three months.
#AAMeter Plummets; President Obama's Second Term Goal of 1 Million New Manufacturing Jobs Growing More Elusive.
The latest monthly U.S. jobs report shows America's manufacturing sector lost 8,000 jobs in May 2013, a setback in the effort to create 1 million new manufacturing jobs in the president's second term.
Commented Scott Paul, President of the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM):
"This is a terrible jobs report for manufacturing. And it's a direct consequence of our widening trade deficits with Japan and China.
"America has shed 21,000 manufacturing jobs over the past three months, and 8,000 jobs in May alone. While the consumer economy is recovering, that won't help economic growth unless our productive sector is growing and our trade imbalance is shrinking.
"President Obama said he'd create one million jobs in his second term–we're a long way off from that."
The #AAMeter
During the 2012 presidential campaign, President Obama set a goal of creating 1 million new manufacturing jobs in his second term. To follow the president's progress, the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) has launched a Jobs Tracker, the #AAMeter.
By using monthly jobs data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), AAM maintains a running monthly tally of manufacturing jobs created during the president's second term.
Added Paul, “The United States is the only major industrial nation that does not have a cohesive national manufacturing strategy. We’ve outlined steps the president should to help meet his manufacturing jobs goal. If the Administration and Congress show a genuine willingness to act on these common sense policies, we’ll see our Jobs Tracker move toward 1 million jobs gained.”
Click here to visit the #AAMeter.