The manufacturing industry added 9,000 jobs in September, a 40% drop from August, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Oct. 2.
Compared to the same time last year, it’s a 400% increase, which saw 3,000 job cuts. Meanwhile, adjusted data shows 20,000 jobs were added in July. The BLS initially reported 5,000 jobs were added.
August’s adjusted numbers now show 15,000 jobs were added, a slight decrease from the agency’s initial report of 16,000 jobs.
Manufacturing unemployment decreased by nearly 26% to 423,000 workers in September, compared to 571,000 a year ago.
In general, 29,000 jobs were added across all U.S. industries, the BLS reported.
Monthly job additions and losses from January 2025 to September 2026
The employment index expanded in September to 52.7%, up 1.5 percentage points from August’s figure of 51.2%, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s Purchasing Managers’ Index released Thursday. An employment index registering above 50.3% over time is generally consistent with an increase in BLS manufacturing employment data, per the ISM.
Of the six major manufacturing industries, only the computer and electronic products and transportation equipment segment reported higher levels of employment, said Susan Spence, chair of ISM’s Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, in a statement.
“The panelist comment ratio of hiring to managing/reducing head counts was 1.5-to-1,” Spence said.
Meanwhile, six other manufacturing industries reported a decrease in employment in September: textile mills; printing and related support activities; petroleum and coal products; paper products; food, beverage and tobacco products; and chemical products.
“Manufacturing’s slow but steady job growth since the beginning of the year has been a real bright spot,” Scott Paul, president of Alliance for American Manufacturing, said in a statement. “Even though factory construction has cooled a bit since its peak, that investment is converting into job opportunities, and it should continue to do so for years to come.”
Nevertheless, inflation and global turmoil continue to affect the U.S. manufacturing industry, Spence said.
“The biggest threat to manufacturing is China’s massive industrial overcapacity, which is already shocking the European Union,” Paul said. “Steel, autos, microelectronics — you name it — China is coming for these jobs; it's up to Congress and the Administration to defend our industries.”
AAM is urging Congress to pass a Senate bill, called the Connected Vehicle Security Act, that would prohibit the importation, manufacturing, sale and introduction of vehicles that have software and hardware components connected to China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.
Manufacturing sectors that added or lost jobs in September 2026
Openings, layoffs, turnovers and separations
August job openings in the manufacturing industry increased nearly 26% to 522,000 compared with the same period last year, according to BLS’ job openings and labor turnover survey data released Sept. 29.
Separations increased by nearly 3% year over year to 311,000. According to the BLS, there were 197,000 quits and 95,000 layoffs and discharges. Other separations, which factor in retirement, death, disability and transfers within a company, remained flat at 18,000.
