Manufacturing Employment Falls

Overall employment levels increased by 483,000 jobs in November, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 5.4%, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report.

In the Bureau report, total employment in November grew by 483,000 to 140.3 million, and the employment-population ratio-the

Manufacturing employment was about unchanged in November. Industry added 82,000 jobs from February through May, but factory employment has shown little subsequent movement, according to the report, and in November semiconductors and electronic components lost 3000 jobs. The average manufacturing employment in Q2 was 14,385,000, and for Q3 the figure was 14,406,000. Total manufacturing employment in September was 14,407,000; for October it was 14,405,000, and for November it was 14,400,000, with the loss of 5000 jobs.

Over the year, the number of persons who held more than one job increased by 346,000 to 7.6 million, not seasonally adjusted, and these multiple jobholders represented 5.4% of total employment in November.

"Manufacturing employment edged down by 5000 last month to 14.4 million," notes David Huether, chief economist for the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM, Washington, DC), who adds that the economy has created 2.3 million jobs since August 2003. "The lack of a strong recovery in manufacturing employment over the last few months, coupled with strong production data from multiple sources inside and outside of government, is an early indication that productivity is continuing to grow at a brisk pace in the fourth quarter. While dampening demand for new employment, strong productivity growth should also keep wage inflation in check over the coming months. The Federal Reserve should take the employment report as a signal that it may not need to raise interest rates."

For more information, see http://www.nam.org/s_nam/doc1.asp ?CID=67&DID=232489 .