In the United States, that means in November, employment in manufacturing shrunk by 5,000 jobs. It’s a substantial decline, and it represents the lowest point since March of 2022. This drop represents the seventh consecutive month of decline for the manufacturing sector. In light of that, there is increasing fear that blue-collar jobs are disappearing from Middle America. The latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics emphasizes that traditionally blue-collar sectors are shrinking at an alarming rate.
The loss in manufacturing employment is the product of many causes. Rising input costs have taken a heavy toll on a majority of manufacturing establishments. Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, which imposed additional costs on critical imports such as steel, aluminum, and copper, have exacerbated the situation. Michael Reid, an industry expert, noted that when input costs rise, “one of the easiest things to do is to cut labor.” As a result, most manufacturers have been forced to reduce their employee’s ranks in order to reduce costs.
Prolonged Challenges in Manufacturing
This trend of loss in manufacturing opportunities sheds light on a deeper issue affecting the blue-collar job arena. Additionally, the last three months have been an average of 17,200 jobs lost in the manufacturing industry per month. Manufacturers are always going to have a hard time. They’re doing it while dealing with the situation of rising costs and tariffs, which make it harder to compete.
The whole situation begs the question of whether policies meant to bring back American manufacturing are working. Trump previously promised to “unleash our economy and deliver a Blue-Collar BOOM,” but current employment figures suggest that many workers are still searching for stable job opportunities.
Reid made sure to say that reshoring jobs—bringing our manufacturing base back to American soil— isn’t an overnight process. “Reshoring doesn’t happen overnight. It doesn’t even happen in six or seven months. It takes several years,” he stated, highlighting the long-term nature of rebuilding American manufacturing capabilities.
The Broader Employment Landscape
While manufacturing is still bracing for headwinds, that’s a different story in all other sectors. Significantly, construction became one of the only bright spots for blue-collar job creation, tacking on 28,000 jobs just in November. This sector has been incredibly resilient and on the rise this past year. Its unabated growth is in stark contrast to the death knell trends we find in manufacturing and other long-standing blue-collar industries.
Perhaps no industry has undergone more astounding growth than health care and social assistance. As I wrote about last month, it added 64,000 jobs in November, repeating the extraordinary jump from October. At the same time, the aging population continues to provide tremendous demand for health care services. This demand has created an amazing momentum of job creation within the industry.
Industries such as mining and logging have seen a significant drop, losing an average of 2,000 jobs per month over the last three months. At the same time, the transportation and warehousing sector has been laying off workers across this entire time span. This collective downturn illustrates the fragile state of employment across multiple sectors that were once viewed as stable.
Future Prospects for Blue-Collar Workers
All of these recent trends point to a troubling future for blue-collar workers as they increasingly face an unpredictable economy and changing workforce landscape. Constructing and health care have enjoyed the biggest gains. Yet the deck is still stacked against manufacturing by economic headwinds and policy choice. While President Trump’s administration claims credit for job-creating initiatives, the image portrayed doesn’t match reality.
The decline in manufacturing employment raises questions about the effectiveness of current economic strategies and whether they align with the needs of American workers. As other industries continue to announce layoffs and decline in numbers, the need for policymakers to tackle these issues head on is more urgent than ever.