The manufacturing industry has recovered from worker losses earlier this year, adding 15,000 jobs in March, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday.

That’s a 400% boost year over year, which saw 5,000 job losses, according to the Federal Reserve Economic Data. The report also includes revised February job figures, with 6,000 job losses. Initial data showed 12,000.

Jim Pagliero, president of energy, engineering and manufacturing staffing at The Planet Group, said in statement that the energy, utilities, engineering and manufacturing industries are not showing a “drop in demand, but a shift toward more disciplined, project-driven hiring.”

“Companies are still investing, especially in infrastructure, grid modernization, and production, but headcount decisions are more measured and closely tied to funded work,” Pagliero said.

Monthly job additions and losses from January 2025 to March 2026 The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ data showed the manufacturing industry’s largest job gains in 2026 occurred in March.

The transportation equipment and fabricated metal products sectors gained the most jobs last month at approximately 6,500 and 5,200, respectively, according to the report. These were followed by the nonmetallic mineral products sector with about 2,800. Paper; plastics and rubber products; and beverage, tobacco, and leather and allied products with 2,400 or more job gains.

The chemical sector lost the most jobs in March with approximately 5,200 cuts, followed by furniture and related product sector with 2,000 losses. Primary metals, food and miscellaneous — which are products not classified in the other sectors — lost 1,100 jobs or more.

Meanwhile, manufacturing unemployment increased by over 7% with 513,000 workers in March, compared to 479,000 year over year.

The employment index contracted in March, registering at 48.7%, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s latest Purchasing Managers’ Index report released Wednesday.

It’s the 30th consecutive month the employment index has contracted, Susan Spence, chair of ISM’s Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, said in the report. Of the six big manufacturing industries, only transportation equipment and machinery reported higher employment levels in March.

“What won’t necessarily show up in the numbers is that hiring is still happening, but it’s more selective and tied to long-term capital projects, creating a more controlled and sort of an uneven hiring environment,” Pagliero said.

Openings, layoffs, turnovers and separations

The BLS reported that February job openings in the manufacturing industry increased nearly 10% to 439,000 compared to the same time last year, according to its job openings and labor turnover survey data released on March 31.

Separations, however, decreased by more than 8% YOY to 295,000. Separations included 172,000 quits and 95,000 layoffs and discharges, according to the BLS. Other separations, which factor in retirement, death, disability and transfers within a company, increased about 22% to 28,000.

Additionally, revised data from January 2026’s JOLT report now show 510,000 openings, about over a 3% increase from the data initially reported in March.

By: DocMemory
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