Manufacturing on the Rise in February Jobs Report
Posted March 7, 2014 & filed under Hiring Resources, Job Search
The February jobs report has just been released and overall hiring numbers are looking good. 175,000 non-farm jobs were added to the U.S. economy, a total which surpassed the predictions of both economists and reports from the two previous months. How do these quantities stack up and where can we expect to go?
The Numbers
Lower numbers recorded in December and January by the Bureau of Labor Statistics made economists reluctant to estimate anything higher than 149,000 jobs being added. With the 175,000 non-farm jobs added, there was a sigh of relief that swept economists.
On the unemployment side, there was only a slight fluctuation from 6.6 percent in January to 6.7 percent this month. With a steady labor force participation number at 63 percent, there are no signs to encourage any further alarm about the state of our current economic vitality.
Manufacturing Breakdown
Manufacturing added 6,000 new jobs in February in spite of the continued accumulation of snow throughout the United States. Transportation equipment and automotive/automotive part industries carried most of the growth in manufacturing – presumably from the need for increased repairs due to the inclement weather. Both sectors increased by 3,700 jobs and 3,400 jobs respectively.
The greatest decrease occurred in the manufacturing of nonmetallic mineral product industry and the food manufacturing industries. Both experienced a decline of 1,900 jobs. Beyond that, the rest of the manufacturing sector was affected by the snow storms to varying degrees.
Additionally, construction jobs were expected to decline but the BLS February Jobs report actually indicated an uptick in hiring. Originally, economists predicted a decrease but 15,000 construction jobs were added to the U.S. economy even though the weather threatened to snow construction sites out of production.
An Upcoming Thaw
As temperatures climb out of the freezer, hiring numbers are set to increase and there is even more to expect in the spring months thanks to President Obama’s manufacturing initiatives. Early this month, he announced the creation of two manufacturing research hubs (one in Chicago and one in Ohio) that will receive federal funding and act as a nexus between the public and private sector.
A $70 million Department of Defense contract has already been awarded and even more money can be expected to shuttle in as interest in the initiative increases.
Automakers are also expecting business to pick up. They set their eyes on selling 16 million cars and they are going to ramp up initiatives to hit that goal. That means even more manufacturing jobs can be expected in the coming months as they try to grab hold of financial lightning.
by James Walsh
