Automated Data Processing (ADP) reported that nonfarm payrolls rose 118,000 in November, lower than the 157,000 observed in October. Almost all of this increase stemmed from additional service sector workers, which increased by a net 114,000. Goods- producing firms hired just 4,000 net new employees in the month.

In the manufacturing sector, employment dropped by 16,000 workers. This was the fifth straight month of losses, according to ADP, totaling 60,000. This figure is larger than the official statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which reported declines of 27,000 in August and September with a gain of 13,000 in October. Nonetheless, it is an indication that the BLS results, when they are released on Friday for November, will be weak at best, and could be negative.

ADP said that the losses in the manufacturing workforce offset a healthy 23,000-worker increase in construction employment. The trade, transportation and utilities (up 22,000), professional business services (up 16,000), and financial activities (up 13,000) sectors also saw more hires in the month.

Breaking out the analysis by company size, larger businesses – particularly those with over 1,000 employees – added the most net new jobs, hiring an additional 62,000 workers. Small and medium-sized businesses hired 19,000 and 33,000 net new workers, respectively, in the month. This is a bit of a turnaround from prior months, when medium-sized (e.g., those with between 50 and 499 workers) led the net job gains.

In summary, the weaker employment numbers in November for manufacturing stemmed from two things. First, Hurricane Sandy reduced some activity, particularly in the Mid-Atlantic regions, and we have seen this storm have an impact in a number of economic statistics. But, the larger challenge right now is the uncertainty created by the fiscal cliff, with slowing global sales also playing a role. As Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi, who produces this report for ADP, put it, “Businesses appear to be holding firm on their hiring and firing decisions.”

Chad Moutray is chief economist, National Association of Manufacturers.

This morning the ADP National Employment Report for March was released and it showed that private-sector employment increased by 209,000 from February to March. The report showed solid growth for manufacturers stating that manufacturing employment increased by 23,000. 

While this is positive news for manufacturers we still have a long way to go. Manufacturers are still facing a growing number of headwinds which are impacting their ability to compete and grow. Energy costs are increasing and the regulatory burden continues to grow.

The BLS employment numbers are out on Friday so stay tuned for more information following the report’s release.

According to Automated Data Processing (ADP), manufacturers added 21,000 net new employees in February, up from an increase of 16,000 in each of the past two months. This suggests that the stronger growth in industry employment has continued into February. Goods-producing firms – which include manufacturing, construction, and mining – added 46,000 net new jobs. This is the fifth consecutive month of gains in the goods-producing sectors, with 146,000 more employees added in that time frame.

For the economy as a whole, there were 216,000 new nonfarm, private payrolls, up from 173,000 last month. Small and medium-sized employers (e.g., those with less than 500 employees) accounted for all but 20,000 of those jobs.

Of course, the ADP figures are a precursor for the release of the official jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday. BLS reported 243,000 new nonfarm payrolls jobs and 50,000 manufacturing workers in January. Expectations are slightly lower payroll numbers for February, with the current consensus estimate of 150,000 new nonfarm payroll jobs. 

Chad Moutray is chief economist, National Association of Manufacturers.

U.S. employment numbers jumped significantly higher in January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with the unemployment rate dropping to 8.3 percent.  Moreover, nonfarm payrolls grew by 243,000, and manufacturers added 50,000 net new workers. These gains were greater than expected, and certainly, much higher than the estimates from ADP released two days ago. Consensus estimates had been for around 150,000 net new jobs with the unemployment rate remaining around 8.5 percent.

These numbers continue to affirm the rebound and importance of manufacturing to our economic recovery. There were 82,000 net new jobs created in the sector in the past two months. This is definitely a sign that manufacturers have picked up their activity of late. Moreover, manufacturers have added 287,000 of the 2,063,000 net new nonfarm payroll jobs generated in the last 13 months (since December 2010); this suggests that nearly 14 percent of all of the jobs generated in that time frame stemmed from manufacturing.

As I noted last month, though, we would be remiss without mentioning the fact that employment remains a significant challenge, even with today’s good news. The “real” unemployment rate – which includes discouraged and underemployed workers – is now 15.1 percent, down from 15.2 percent in December and 16.1 percent last year at this time.

There are currently 2.81 million Americans who are classified as “marginally attached to the labor force,” with 1.06 million being discouraged workers. This is up slightly from last month. (The civilian labor force also grew last month, from 240.58 million to 242.27 million.)

Looking specifically at the January 2012 figures, the bulk of the new jobs in manufacturing came from the durable goods sector, which was up 44,000 for the month. The largest gains came in fabricated metal products (up 10,900), machinery (up 10,500) and transportation equipment (up 10,300). Nondurable goods sector employment rose by 6,000 in January. In that sector, the strongest growth came in the chemicals (up 2,200), printing and related support services (up 1,700) and beverages and tobacco products (up 1,300) sectors.

The average workweek for manufacturers rose from 40.6 hours in December to 40.0 hours in January. The average amount of overtime edged slightly higher from 3.3 to 3.4 hours. Therefore, the average weekly earnings for manufacturing workers rose from $969.93 to $977.51.

Overall, these numbers show renewed strength in the domestic economy, with employment growth in almost every major industrial sector except information, financial services and government. It mirrors other recent economic indicators showing an uptick in activity since October. Moreover, several sentiment surveys suggest that manufacturers are optimistic about future production and employment in 2012, which should bode well for this year’s numbers.

Yet, it is important to remember that significant headwinds exist both in Europe and in the U.S. The labor and housing markets – while improving – still have a long way to go before they are healthy, and consumer and business optimism is mixed with persistent anxieties. Still, we will take good news when we can get it.

Chad Moutray is chief economist, National Association of Manufacturers.

Employment jumped significantly in December, according to Automated Data Processing (ADP), with 325,000 net new nonfarm private payrolls added for the month. The service sector accounted for 273,000 of those gains, with the goods-producing sector adding 52,000.

This was the largest positive monthly change since ADP began calculating payroll changes in December 2000; in this recent recovery, the second-largest monthly change was December 2010, which experienced a gain of 246,000 net new jobs.

Manufacturing employment was also much higher, adding 22,000 net new jobs in December. This matched its gain from June, ending a five-month malaise (at least for now) of slow job growth. Hopefully, this is a sign of better things to come as we move into 2012.

As with previous ADP reports, the bulk of the net new jobs stemmed from small and medium-sized payrolls (e.g., those with less than 500 employees). Of the 325,000 net new jobs created in December, 148,000 stemmed from small establishments with less than 50 employees, and 140,000 flowed from medium-sized entities with 50 to 499 employees.  

These numbers suggest that employment growth has picked up its pace from recent weaknesses. For manufacturers, these results mirror regional sentiment surveys which have found an increased ability to start hiring again.

A similar finding will probably be found in tomorrow’s employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics; although, the current consensus forecast for nonfarm payrolls from BLS is closer to a net increase of 150,000 (rather than ADP’s larger figure). In addition, economists will be closely watching the unemployment rate, which unexpectedly dropped to 8.6 percent in November.

Chad Moutray is chief economist, National Association of Manufacturers.

According to the ADP National Employment Report released this morning manufacturers shed 9,000 jobs in May following nine straight months of positive growth. With the much-talked-about “cooling” experienced in manufacturing over the past couple months this is not a surprise. The ADP report also said that nonfarm payroll jobs increased 38,000 in May, which is well below expectations.

The goods-producing sector as a whole was down 10,000, primarily from larger establishments with 500 or more employees. Small and medium-sized goods-producing payrolls added employment over the month on net.

For manufacturing, these numbers mirror larger trends in the data, including yesterday’s Chicago Business Barometer. Later this morning, the Institute for Supply Management will release the Purchasing Managers Index for May, and on Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the official employment numbers. I would expect to see similar trends in both of these data sources and I will have additional analysis later this morning. 

Today’s report reminds us that while the long-term outlook for manufacturing is positive manufacturing has still not yet fully recovered and we need to remain cautious. Higher energy prices and the slow housing sector are continuing to be a drag on the economy. Many of the current declines can also be attributed to supply chain disruptions and other factors, many of which are temporary in nature. If manufacturers are to continue to remain competitive and drive the economic recovery sound policies from Washington are necessary to ease the uncertainty still facing many businesses. 

Chad Moutray is chief economist, National Association of Manufacturers.

Manufacturers added 25,000 jobs in April, according to a report issued by ADP.  The Labor Department’s employment numbers will be released on Friday, and the ADP numbers are closely examined to gauge where the official figures will be. 

Overall, the economy added 179,000 net new jobs in April, which was below the consensus estimate of 200,000 that many economists had predicted.  The goods-producing sector as a whole added 41,000 new jobs, with 26,000 of those stemming from medium-sized firms with between 50 and 499 employees.  Small goods-producing payrolls with less than 50 employees generated 14,000 new jobs.

For manufacturing, this was the seventh consecutive month of positive gains in employment, mirroring other economic indicators.  But, it also represented a slight fall-off from March, which experienced a net gain of 35,000 new jobs. 

Overall, this report lends further support for continued growth in the manufacturing sector, albeit with some relative cooling off in April.  We would expect a similar trend with Friday’s BLS report.