Since “Liberation Day,” manufacturing firms have slowed their hiring and are creating new positions at rates well below 2024 levels. The falling job opening and hiring rates in the manufacturing sector since the beginning of 2025 reveal that the Trump administration’s policies are harming working-class jobs that are overwhelmingly filled by men, who have been struggling with rising unemployment in recent months.
Not only is the manufacturing sector performing worse in 2025 than it was in 2024, but the July 2025 “Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary” also reveals this sector is struggling more than the rest of the labor market. Job openings and hires rates for the manufacturing sector in July 2025 were 3.3 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively, lower than the 4.3 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively, for all industries.
Manufacturing workers’ wage growth is stagnating under Trump’s tariffs
In August 2025, manufacturing workers earned an average of $35.50 per hour, increasing only by 10 cents from the month prior, in line with all private employees, who saw an increase of 10 cents. This slowing wage growth compared with prior months is in line with the wage trends for this industry following Trump’s April 2025 tariff announcement. In April 2025, average hourly wages for manufacturing workers fell by 8 cents and have remained sluggish in the following months.
Who are manufacturing workers?
Center for American Progress analysis of Current Population Survey (CPS) data found that in 2024, a majority (63 percent) of the manufacturing workforce was white, non-Hispanic. Hispanic and Black employees made up the second- and third-largest racial/ethnic groups, at 18 percent and 10 percent, respectively. Research emphasizes that job losses in the manufacturing sector that took place from 1998 to 2020 affected Black workers more significantly than white workers. With Black unemployment increasing to 7.5 percent in today’s report and the Trump administration’s attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion, the fall in manufacturing jobs further threatens the economic security of the Black middle class.
Over the past few decades, there has been an increase in the share of manufacturing workers with a postsecondary education, reflecting trends of an upskilling workforce. CAP analysis of CPS data found that while two-thirds of manufacturing workers had less than a bachelor’s degree in 2024, one-third of manufacturing workers had a bachelor’s degree or higher. This increase in manufacturing workers with a bachelor’s degree, up from less than 10 percent in 1970, highlights the increase in specialized skills and training for these roles and the need for investment in educational pathways to support the future of the industry, in which a growing number of openings now require a bachelor’s degree or specialized technical skill set. Despite these trends, manufacturing workers without a four-year college degree still outearn their counterparts in other industries, highlighting the manufacturing industry’s role in bolstering the economic security of the working class.
Conclusion
Trump’s tariffs are harming the economy at large, as seen in today’s employment numbers, but are especially taking a toll on the manufacturing industry. Indeed, the passage of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act—which gutted clean energy manufacturing and jeopardizes thousands of jobs—threatens the short- and long-term health of the manufacturing industry. As the economy heads into uncertain times, workers in the manufacturing industry are already feeling the impact of the tariff announcements.
The authors would like to thank Lily Roberts, Natalie Baker, Ryan Mulholland, Emily Gee, Audrey Juarez, Meghan Miller, and Anh Nguyen for their feedback and support with this piece, and Aurelia Glass for her fact-checking assistance.
Kennedy Andara is Policy Analyst
Sara Estep is Economist
