On Friday, the Labor Department said 916,000 jobs were created last month, the most since last August, including 53,000 manufacturing positions. That was the highest number of new factory jobs in six months, Trend reports citing Reuters.
The report’s manufacturing diffusion index, a measure of the breadth of hiring across some 75 goods-producing industries, registered one of its highest readings ever.
Manufacturing employment suffered a much less severe blow than service sector jobs last spring when COVID-19 first brought the economy effectively to a standstill. About one of every 10 factory jobs were eliminated in the shutdowns versus roughly one of every six service jobs. Factory employment is 4% below pre-pandemic levels, a deficit of 515,000 jobs, versus 5.5% for overall U.S. employment, with a total shortfall from February 2020 of 8.4 million positions.
Other indicators also point to a tight labor market at factories. Earlier this week, the Institute for Supply Management said its index for national factory activity jumped to its highest reading in 37 years in March, with its gauge of manufacturing employment rising to its highest level since February 2018.
UKG, which provides time management for small and mid-sized companies, said employee shift work at U.S. manufacturers was up 3.4% in mid-March from mid-February, outpacing a 2.6% increase across all industries.