Washington, D.C. – Manufacturing gained 225,000 jobs in May, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday. But employment gains and losses were volatile and reflect the rapidly changing public health and economic circumstances.
Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul said:
“With auto sector restarts and other demand surges related to COVID-19 responses, this jobs report was an odd one for the manufacturing sector. Although it’s good to see these gains, the sector still has a long way to go to fully recover, as it lost more than 1.3. million jobs in April alone.
Manufacturing has fewer barriers to return to work–ease of social distancing, strong safety protocols already in place, many firms exempted from state shutdown orders–so the major obstacles now are weak demand, plunging exports, and the continuing public health crisis. There is an urgent need for action on all three fronts.
We need major new investments in infrastructure domestically and action against currency manipulators and unfair traders internationally. Unfortunately, the Treasury Report still hasn’t issued its required currency report, and China has not only left the Phase One trade deal unfulfilled, in many cases, it is moving in the wrong direction.”
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