Manufacturing Snapshot

The manufacturing industry is on track for a solid year as investment flows into new plants across the United States. A large wave of construction spending for computer and electrical parts manufacturing is the principal driver behind this growth – which is increasing the need for specialized workers. Over the first quarter of the year, the industry added 16,000 new jobs, up slightly from the fourth quarter of 2023.

Digging into the subsectors within manufacturing, demand for transportation equipment workers has been the strongest compared to the other major subsectors. Over the previous quarter, the subsector added 24,700 new jobs, an increase of nearly 16,000 from the end of 2023! Food manufacturing growth has been subdued – only adding 2,000 new positions for the quarter. Surprisingly, both computer and machinery manufacturing job growth has been weak, the former adding just 400 jobs for the first quarter and the latter losing 3,200.