The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that manufacturing employment rose by only 1,000 in June after falling by 2,000 in May. This was the sixth increase in net hiring in the past seven months, with the manufacturing sector hiring 71,000 workers over that time frame.
Manufacturing jobs totaled 12.396 million in June, a seasonally adjusted figure according to the BLS. The seasonally adjusted figure for May was 12.395 million. The June number is an improvement from the June, 2016 number of 12.347 million.
Manufacturing sectors with gains in June included machinery (up 3,500), electrical equipment and appliances (up 2,800), primary metals (up 2,300), and computer and electronic products (up 1,000).
Average weekly earnings for manufacturing workers were up from $1,078.14 in May to $1,081.61 in June--a 2.3 percent year-over-year increase in average weekly earnings, up from $1,056.98 in June 2016.
