Factory Job Losses Send New Warning Signal to Trump on Trade War
President Donald Trump lauded a tight labor market Friday as the unemployment rate hit a 50-year low. He didn’t mention job losses appearing in manufacturing, a key industry for his base of supporters.
Total payrolls at factories contracted by about 2,000 in September, when economists had expected a 3,000 gain. The data was released as part of the monthly jobs report Friday, which this time happened to fall on Manufacturing Day, the industry’s unofficial holiday.
The figures are the latest indication of the hit factories are taking amid slowing growth globally and the ongoing trade war with China, which not only increases prices for companies but also causes investment uncertainty.
The monthly decline in factory jobs was the second this year, and comes after gains throughout the tail-end of 2017 and all of last year. Companies added about half a million manufacturing jobs since Trump took office in January 2017, continuing a trend of sector growth since the 2008-2009 financial crisis.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-06/factory-job-losses-send-new-warning-signal-to-trump-on-trade-war?srnd=premium
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