Marketplace Why manufacturing employment continues to fall
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Mar 5, 2026 
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Manufacturing Jobs Haven't Recovered Since 2008
- U.S. manufacturing payrolls remain below their pre-2008 levels and have fallen three years straight since 2023.
- Daniel Ackerman cites globalization, automation, the Great Recession, weak single-family housing demand, and tariff uncertainty as combined drivers of persistent job losses.
Housing Slowdown Shrinks Factory Orders
- A weak single-family housing market directly reduces demand for related factories like sawmills and furniture makers.
- Jason Miller explains housing's downturn trims orders, so those manufacturers stop hiring until bigger orders return.
Tariff Uncertainty Raises Costs And Freezes Orders
- Tariffs intended to protect U.S. producers have raised costs for downstream manufacturers and made input pricing unpredictable.
- Teresa Fort and Susan Spence say firms order in small increments because they can't plan around shifting tariff rules.