• Manufacturing employment rose by 31,000 in November, and year to date, hiring in the sector is on track for the best annual job growth since 1994, rising by 315,000 in the first 11 months. Yet, there remained 253,000 fewer manufacturing employees relative to pre-pandemic levels, with 12,799,000 workers in the sector in February 2020.
  • The average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers in manufacturing rose 0.4% from $24.14 in October to $24.24 in November, with a 4.9% increase over the past year.
  • New orders for manufactured goods rose 1.0% to a record $522.1 billion in October, increasing for the sixth straight month. Excluding transportation equipment, manufacturing orders increased 1.6% in October. Factory shipments increased 2.0% in October, or 10.1% year to date.
  • Overall, the manufacturing sector continues to expand strongly—despite lingering supply chain, workforce and pricing pressures—with new orders soaring 11.5% year to date. In addition, new orders for core capital goods rose 0.7% to $78.7 billion in October, a record high, with 9.9% growth year to date.
  • The average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers in manufacturing rose 0.4% from $24.14 in October to $24.24 in November, with a 4.9% increase over the past year.