(CNSNews.com) - The United States added 66,000 jobs in the manufacturing sector in the month of September, but that still left the nation with 647,000 fewer manufacturing jobs then it had in February when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Manufacturing added 66,000 jobs over the month,” said the BLS jobs report.
“Durable goods accounted for about two-thirds of the gain, led by motor vehicles and parts (+14,000) and machinery (+14,000),” said the report.
“Despite gains over the past 5 months, employment in manufacturing is 647,000 below February's level,” it said.
In February, there were 12,820,000 people employed in manufacturing in the United States. That dropped by 46,000 in March to 12,806,000.
Then it April, manufacturing employment dropped by 1,317,000, hitting a low of 11,489,000.
In May, manufacturing employment started back up, adding 240,000 jobs to reach 11,729,000.
In each of the four months since then, manufacturing jobs have continued to rise—climbing by 333,000 in June to reach 12,062,000; climbing another 41,000 in July to reach 12,103,000; climbing by 36,000 in August to hit 12,1390,000; then climbing by last month’s 66,000 to hit 12,205,000.
The BLS has been tracking monthly manufacturing employment in the United States since 1939—81 years ago. In January 1939, there were 9,077,000 people employed in manufacturing in this country, The number employed in manufacturing first topped 12,000,000 in June 1941, when it rose from 11,957,000 to 12,204,000.
Manufacturing jobs hit an all-time high in the United States in June 1979, when they rose from 19,509,000 to 19,533,000.
They then dropped to a post-World War II low point of 11,453,000 in February and March of 2010.
The lowest point for manufacturing jobs in the United States since that 2010 low point was in April of this year, when manufacturing jobs dropped to their mid-pandemic low of 11,489,000.
Since that mid-pandemic low, the United States has added 716,000 jobs.
When President Donald Trump took office in January 2017, there were 12,369,000 manufacturing jobs in the United States. The September count of 12,205,000 was 164,000 behind that.