U.S. Manufacturing Sector Loses 16,000 Jobs in September.
The latest monthly U.S. jobs numbers were issued this morning:
- For September 2012, the U.S. manufacturing sector lost 16,000 jobs. On net, manufacturing employment has been essentially unchanged since April at 11,942,000 jobs,
- Overall, the unemployment rate decreased to 7.8 percent in September, and total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 114,000.
Said Scott Paul, Executive Director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), of the latest jobs report:
"I’m pleased the unemployment rate is heading down, but we have a long way to go. I’m troubled by the stall we’ve seen in manufacturing job growth. Manufacturing unemployment has been essentially unchanged for the past six months.
"The manufacturing sector was driving an outsized share of economic growth in 2010 and 2011, but no longer. The rising trade deficit with China and weak demand in Europe are clearly making a serious dent in the manufacturing recovery.
"President Obama has laid out a goal of creating one million new manufacturing jobs in a second term. That won’t be easy to do if we are merely treading water. Mitt Romney has pledged to get tough on China. He should tell House Speaker John Boehner to pass China currency legislation when Congress returns in November. We can’t wait any longer."