The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the manufacturing industry added 5,000 jobs in January, according to a Feb. 11 news release.
It’s a huge improvement compared to the revised data from the same period last year, which showed a loss of 20,000 jobs, according to the Federal Reserve Economic Data. BLS initially published 5,000 job cuts.
The BLS revises its data based on additional reports from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates, per the press release. It also conducts its annual benchmarking process, which reassesses sample-based employment estimates against full-population counts for March of the prior year, according to the agency’s website.
The transportation equipment sector — which accounts for the manufacturing of motor vehicle bodies, trailers and parts, as well as aerospace products and ship and boat building — added the bulk of the gains in January 2026 with about 4,800 jobs.
The nonmetallic mineral product, machinery, paper, and the electrical equipment, appliance and component sectors each tally over 1,000 additional employees.
“Could this be a turning point for manufacturing jobs?,” Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, said in a statement. “After 13 consecutive months of factory job losses, the slight bump up in January is a welcome sign.”
Manufacturing sectors that added or lost jobs in January 2026
On the job-loss side, the apparel and chemical sectors accounted for the most cuts, with roughly 1,800 each. These were followed by the petroleum and coal sector with 1,400 job losses.
Meanwhile, manufacturing unemployment fell to about 541,000 in January, down nearly 11% year over year.
BLS’ job openings and labor turnover survey data, released on Feb. 5, show separations in the manufacturing industry fell about 1.3% YoY to approximately 311,000.
Separations included 184,000 quits and 111,000 layoffs and discharges, according to the BLS.
Additionally, revised data from November’s JOLTS report now show 301,000 separations, about a 22% increase from the initially reported figure. November’s modified data also include increases in quits at 182,000 and layoffs and discharges at 104,000.
Revised numbers showed the manufacturing industry lost an estimated 103,000 jobs between Jan. 1, 2025, and Jan. 1, 2026, according to FRED.
Monthly job additions and losses from January 2025 to January 2026
Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee also released their analysis of manufacturing job data on Wednesday, stating that the industry lost 108,000 jobs during the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term. They added that manufacturing lost more than 68,000 jobs than what the BLS previously reported.
“While President Trump promised us a manufacturing boom, the reality of his first year has been a bust,” Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., ranking member of the Joint Economic Committee, said in a statement. “It is critical for both our national security and our economic future that we grow our manufacturing sector. The president has instead spent his first year burdening manufacturers with reckless tariffs, and this loss of jobs is the result.”
Other recent manufacturing data suggest the industry may be making an about-face in 2026, Paul said. The manufacturing industry expanded in January, reaching its highest level since February 2022, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s latest Purchasing Managers’ Index.
Some of the sectors’ job data reflect last month’s growth. Transportation equipment, which added the most jobs, expanded, per the PMI report. While the petroleum and coal sector, which is one of two sectors that lost the most jobs, contracted.
Other sectors, such as the chemical products sector, lost over 1,000 jobs but still saw growth in January.
“For every person hiring, there are still two that are not,” Susan Spence, chair of the ISM’s Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, said in a media call on Feb. 2. However, she added that employment could turn around depending on whether the new orders and production indices remain in expansion.
An Alliance for American Manufacturing poll released in December found that 69% of Americans were concerned that artificial intelligence could negatively affect jobs. While 73% said data center projects could boost job growth by using domestically produced materials.
“There are massive variables, including tariffs, the AI impact, workforce, and interest rates, that will have an impact as we look ahead,” Paul said.
