500metrics

Current Employment Statistics (CES3000000001) · Manufacturing, seasonally adjusted

How many jobs are there in manufacturing?

The number of jobs in manufacturing was 12,652 thousand in the month ended , up 0.3% from a year earlier (preliminary).

Jobs in manufacturing, in thousands, seasonally adjusted, each month

January 1939 to September 2026Seasonally adjusted, as published

Jobs in manufacturing, in thousands, seasonally adjusted, each month (January 1939 to September 2026), recessions shaded
Jobs in manufacturing, in thousands, seasonally adjusted, each month (September 2016 to September 2026), recessions shaded
Jobs in manufacturing, in thousands, seasonally adjusted, each month (September 2024 to September 2026)

Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to .

Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to .

Jobs in manufacturing, in thousands, change from a year earlier, each month (ours)

January 1939 to September 2026Ours, from the published values

Jobs in manufacturing, in thousands, change from a year earlier, each month (ours) (January 1939 to September 2026), recessions shaded
Jobs in manufacturing, in thousands, change from a year earlier, each month (ours) (September 2016 to September 2026), recessions shaded
Jobs in manufacturing, in thousands, change from a year earlier, each month (ours) (September 2024 to September 2026)

Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to .

Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to .

Each point is one month of the series as the source publishes it, or a change worked out from those values (ours). The US recessions are shaded. Pointing at the chart shows the month and the value.

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Inspect and compare dates

The newest month beside the one before it and the nearest ones a year, five and ten years earlier. The last ten years are in the table under "The numbers behind the chart".

MeasureLatestThe month beforeA year earlierFive years earlierTen years earlier
Month
Jobs in manufacturing, in thousands12,652 thousand12,643 thousand12,612 thousand12,393 thousand12,317 thousand
Change over a year+0.3%+0.2%−1.1%+2.8%−0.1%

The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.

Observed .

Right now

The number of jobs in manufacturing was 12,652 thousand in September 2026, the highest since April 2025.

Over a year it is up 0.3% (ours). The source marks this value preliminary.

See every month of the last ten years

ChangeOurs

PeriodThenChange
One month12,643 thousand in +0.1%
Three months12,608 thousand in +0.3%
Twelve months12,612 thousand in +0.3%
Five years12,393 thousand in +2.1%
Ten years12,317 thousand in +2.7%

In historyOurs

The number of jobs in manufacturing of 12,652 thousand in was higher than in 190 of the 1,052 other months since , the same in 0 and lower in 862.

Highest since : 19,553 thousand in . Lowest since : 9,077 thousand in .

AverageOurs

Average since : 15,384.4 thousand (ours, a plain mean of the 1,053 months).

ComparedOurs

Over a year the number of jobs in manufacturing is up 0.3%, which ranks 16 of the 35 rows of the table, where 1 is the largest change.

The table sets the number of jobs in manufacturing beside the industries on the jobs by industry page, by the change over a year in each one's newest month.

See every row of the ranking

Openings and turnoverJob Openings and Labor Turnover Survey

In August 2026 the survey counted, for manufacturing, 522 thousand job openings, 332 thousand hires, 197 thousand quits and 95 thousand layoffs and discharges.

Over a year the counts are job openings up 25.5%, hires up 11.0%, quits up 23.9% and layoffs and discharges down 24.6% (ours).

Job openings, hires, quits and layoffs in manufacturing

August 2016 to August 2026Seasonally adjusted, as publishedNo picture is made of these rows; their numbers are in the table

Job openings, hires, quits and layoffs in manufacturing, one row for each measure
  • Job openings522295 to 1,025
  • Hires332263 to 628
  • Quits19794 to 344
  • Layoffs and discharges9579 to 718

Each row is one measure of the second survey for manufacturing, in thousands over the last ten years, one month to a point, on one scale, with its newest value and its range printed beside it. Pointing at the chart shows the month and the value.

Observed .

See every measure with its change and record

Understanding the number of jobs in manufacturing

Where it stands today

The number of jobs in manufacturing was 12,652 thousand in September 2026.

What does the number of jobs in manufacturing measure?

Manufacturing covers the factories and workshops that turn materials into new products, from food and clothing to cars, computers and chemicals. BLS splits it into durable goods and nondurable goods.

Read more

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) counts these jobs each month in a survey of employers, the Current Employment Statistics, and publishes them in the Employment Situation report at the start of the next month. The count is all employees on payrolls, in thousands, seasonally adjusted.

What 500metrics adds: the change over one month, three months, a year and five years, the highest and lowest value since the series begins, how the change over a year ranks among the lines of the jobs by industry page. For this industry it also shows the job openings, hires, quits and layoffs from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), a second BLS survey, beside the count of jobs.

The numbers behind the chart

What was the number of jobs in manufacturing in each month?The last ten years, 120 months, newest first; the chart and the file have every month since Jan 1939
Jobs in manufacturing, in thousands, seasonally adjusted, by month, newest first (Thousands of jobs; the change ours)
MonthValueChange over a year
12,652 thousand+0.3%
12,643 thousand+0.2%
12,628 thousand0.0%
12,608 thousand−0.2%
12,595 thousand−0.4%
12,597 thousand−0.5%
12,598 thousand−0.5%
12,583 thousand−0.7%
12,582 thousand−0.7%
12,580 thousand−0.9%
12,593 thousand−0.9%
12,603 thousand−0.7%
12,612 thousand−1.1%
12,615 thousand−1.2%
12,625 thousand−1.4%
12,636 thousand−1.4%
12,651 thousand−1.4%
12,662 thousand−1.3%
12,666 thousand−1.3%
12,671 thousand−1.4%
12,673 thousand−1.6%
12,693 thousand−1.4%
12,711 thousand−1.2%
12,697 thousand−1.1%
Show 96 more rows
MonthValueChange over a year
12,758 thousand−0.9%
12,772 thousand−0.7%
12,806 thousand−0.4%
12,814 thousand−0.5%
12,825 thousand−0.3%
12,833 thousand−0.4%
12,836 thousand−0.4%
12,852 thousand−0.4%
12,875 thousand−0.2%
12,872 thousand−0.2%
12,859 thousand−0.3%
12,837 thousand−0.4%
12,872 thousand+0.2%
12,861 thousand+0.2%
12,862 thousand+0.5%
12,875 thousand+0.8%
12,869 thousand+1.1%
12,884 thousand+1.2%
12,888 thousand+1.7%
12,898 thousand+2.4%
12,903 thousand+2.7%
12,895 thousand+2.9%
12,896 thousand+3.2%
12,883 thousand+3.5%
12,849 thousand+3.7%
12,832 thousand+3.9%
12,800 thousand+4.0%
12,767 thousand+4.2%
12,735 thousand+4.2%
12,726 thousand+4.4%
12,674 thousand+3.6%
12,601 thousand+3.5%
12,564 thousand+3.5%
12,537 thousand+3.2%
12,498 thousand+3.1%
12,453 thousand+3.0%
12,393 thousand+2.8%
12,353 thousand+3.0%
12,305 thousand+2.8%
12,247 thousand+2.5%
12,216 thousand+5.2%
12,193 thousand+7.1%
12,229 thousand−3.6%
12,172 thousand−4.5%
12,142 thousand−4.7%
12,153 thousand−4.8%
12,118 thousand−5.2%
12,086 thousand−5.1%
12,057 thousand−5.7%
11,999 thousand−6.2%
11,973 thousand−6.4%
11,950 thousand−6.5%
11,610 thousand−9.1%
11,382 thousand−11.0%
12,684 thousand−0.8%
12,743 thousand−0.3%
12,745 thousand−0.4%
12,760 thousand0.0%
12,777 thousand+0.3%
12,733 thousand0.0%
12,787 thousand+0.6%
12,789 thousand+0.8%
12,790 thousand+0.9%
12,787 thousand+1.0%
12,778 thousand+1.2%
12,785 thousand+1.5%
12,788 thousand+1.7%
12,782 thousand+1.8%
12,790 thousand+2.1%
12,761 thousand+2.1%
12,741 thousand+2.2%
12,731 thousand+2.2%
12,710 thousand+2.1%
12,688 thousand+2.0%
12,676 thousand+2.3%
12,656 thousand+2.1%
12,623 thousand+2.0%
12,595 thousand+1.8%
12,576 thousand+1.7%
12,551 thousand+1.6%
12,527 thousand+1.6%
12,501 thousand+1.4%
12,472 thousand+1.3%
12,457 thousand+1.1%
12,443 thousand+1.0%
12,435 thousand+0.9%
12,390 thousand+0.4%
12,390 thousand+0.6%
12,377 thousand+0.6%
12,367 thousand+0.3%
12,361 thousand+0.4%
12,350 thousand+0.1%
12,334 thousand−0.2%
12,324 thousand−0.1%
12,311 thousand−0.1%
12,316 thousand−0.1%
How does it compare with the industries on the jobs by industry page?Ranked by the change over a year
Jobs in manufacturing, in thousands beside the industries on the jobs by industry page, newest month of each, by the change over a year (ours); equal changes share a rank
SeriesMonthValueChange over a yearRank
Health care and social assistance23,959 thousand+2.2%1
Private education and health28,005 thousand+1.9%2
Utilities612 thousand+1.7%3
Construction8,364 thousand+1.3%4
Durable goods7,898 thousand+1.1%5
Professional, scientific, technical10,844 thousand+0.8%6
Accommodation and food services14,310 thousand+0.7%7
Goods-producing21,623 thousand+0.7%7
Other services6,039 thousand+0.6%9
Professional and business services22,482 thousand+0.6%9
Administrative, support, waste9,019 thousand+0.5%11
Private service-providing114,094 thousand+0.5%11
Total private135,717 thousand+0.5%11
Leisure and hospitality16,969 thousand+0.4%14
Wholesale trade6,078 thousand+0.4%14
Local government15,173 thousand+0.3%16
Manufacturing12,652 thousand+0.3%16
Mining and logging607 thousand+0.3%16
Service-providing137,421 thousand+0.3%16
Total nonfarm159,044 thousand+0.3%16
Retail trade15,480 thousand+0.2%21
Trade, transportation, utilities28,778 thousand+0.2%21
Mining, oil and gas extraction567 thousand+0.1%23
Private education4,046 thousand−0.1%24
Transportation and warehousing6,609 thousand−0.1%24
Management of companies2,620 thousand−0.3%26
State government5,472 thousand−0.5%27
Real estate, rental, leasing2,438 thousand−0.6%28
Government23,327 thousand−0.9%29
Nondurable goods4,754 thousand−0.9%29
Financial activities9,082 thousand−1.2%31
Finance and insurance6,645 thousand−1.4%32
Arts, entertainment, recreation2,659 thousand−1.6%33
Information2,739 thousand−4.2%34
Federal government2,682 thousand−8.0%35

The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.

How many job openings, hires, quits and layoffs were there in manufacturing?Newest month of each measure
Job openings, hires, quits and layoffs in manufacturing, newest month of each measure, seasonally adjusted (Thousands (job openings at the end of the month; hires, quits and layoffs during it); rates in percent; the change over a year ours)
MeasureMonthCountRateChange over a yearWhere the count stands
Job openings522 thousand4.0%+25.5%the lowest since June 2026
Hires332 thousand2.6%+11.0%the highest since June 2026
Quits197 thousand1.6%+23.9%the highest since October 2024
Layoffs and discharges95 thousand0.8%−24.6%the highest since May 2026

The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.

What do these figures leave out, and how are they cited?Limits, dates and how to cite

What this number cannot tell you

  • BLS counts jobs, not people: a person with two jobs on two payrolls is counted twice. Farm jobs, the self-employed, unpaid family workers, private household workers and members of the military are not counted.
  • The count comes from a survey of employers, so each month's value carries sampling error. BLS revises each month twice in the two months after it is first published, and each February it benchmarks the series to a full count of jobs from unemployment insurance tax records and revises earlier values, so past values on this page can change.
  • BLS publishes this series from 1939.
  • The job openings, hires, quits and layoffs come from JOLTS, a separate survey of employers that BLS holds from December 2000 and publishes about a month after the payroll counts, so its newest month can be an earlier month than the count of jobs.
  • The changes, the ranks and the highest and lowest values are ours, worked out from the values BLS publishes; a change is in percent.

Observed . Checked .

Observed .

How to cite this

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics, Manufacturing, seasonally adjusted, through September 2026, with U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, through August 2026. Compiled by 500metrics, "How many jobs are there in manufacturing?", https://500metrics.com/jobs-by-industry/manufacturing.

Can the data be downloaded?jobs-by-industry-manufacturing.csv

Download the full history as CSV: 1,053 rows, to , 19,454 bytes.

Our text and compilation: CC BY 4.0.

Recession dates from the National Bureau of Economic Research.

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