Employment in manufacturing rose slightly in January 2025 while the overall unemployment rate fell by 0.1 points. According to the latest preliminary figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, durable-goods manufacturing actually lost some jobs last month, but the loss was offset by larger gains in the smaller nondurable-goods sector.
January was overall a quiet month for manufacturing-related jobs growth. While employment in the related field of mining and petroleum extraction fell by 8,000 jobs, most other manufacturing-adjacent sectors saw only slight increases or decreases in employment, including transportation and warehousing.
The average hourly wage for all private, nonfarm employees rose by 17 cents to $35.87. The average wages for manufacturing workers rose alongside it at a slower pace of 12 cents to $34.64 an hour. Durable-goods wages kept up with average overall wages, increasing an average of 17 cents to $36.74, but were weighted downwards by the slower increase in nondurable goods production, just 3 cents to $31.11.
Transportation equipment manufacturers, particularly automotive manufacturers, saw the most dramatic change for manufacturing employment last month. The number of people employed in producing transportation equipment fell by 12,700 in January, including 9,700 in automotive manufacturing.
The durable goods sector as a whole lost 3,000 jobs, but small, across-the-board increases in nondurable-goods production of 6,000 more jobs led to a net increase in manufacturing employment last month by about 3,000 jobs. Paper manufacturing and printing saw the highest increase there, with growth of about 1.5 thousand jobs.
