Latest BLS jobs report: Manufacturing lost 9,000 jobs in October, 5,000 more last month

Manufacturing employment in the United States slid for a seventh straight month in November, according to the latest preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. After adjusted figures showed the sector shedding 5,000 jobs in September, less than previously reported, durable and nondurable goods-producing companies in the U.S. lost an estimated 9,000 more in October and 5,000 in November. The overall nonfarm economy saw a moderate change of 64,000 jobs.

Published December 16, the results notably include new data on the past two months of data, rather than just one, due to an initial delay in data collection during the government shutdown.

November’s manufacturing job losses mostly hit the larger durable-goods production sector. Durable goods production lost 4,000 jobs and 1,000 in nondurable goods industries like food and beverage manufacturing. In the first category, electrical equipment manufacturers and transportation equipment recorded gains of about 2,200 and 1,500 jobs, respectively, but those gains were offset by larger losses in motor vehicles and parts (a subset of the “transportation equipment” category), which lost almost 5,000 jobs by itself; wood products (-2,300 jobs) and miscellaneous manufacturing (-1,700). Job gains and losses by nondurable goods industry were largely flat.

In manufacturing-adjacent industries, transportation and warehousing lost 18,000 jobs in November, largely due to an equivalent loss in couriers and messengers, the Bureau reported. Mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction saw largely flat job growth.

In a December 16 statement, Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer said the job report shows “momentum” and noted that employment growth is constrained by a loss in federal employment. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that employment by the federal government fell by an estimated 6,000 jobs in November.

What people are saying

“November’s jobs report shows our economy continues to gain momentum despite the economic mess President Trump inherited from the Biden administration and the reckless Democrat shutdown,” said Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer in a statement. “With 64,000 jobs added in November, more and more Americans are coming off the sidelines and working in the private sector. Investment has been booming thanks to the President’s America First policies, leading to strong nonresidential construction growth. 

Investing in American manufacturing in 2025 

This map shows where manufacturers are choosing to invest their resources, whether they are building new production facilities or expanding existing plants.