November 8, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Manufacturing employment in October

Manufacturing employment continued to decline in October with a loss of 15,000 jobs. Since June, the number of factory jobs has fallen by an average of 12,000 per month, compared with an average decline of 36,000 per month during the first half of the year.

[Chart data—TXT]

The slower pace of job loss since June can be attributed in part to electrical equipment and to fabricated metals, which have added 8,000 and 2,000 jobs over the period, respectively. Employment in both of these industries had been trending down since the spring of 1998.

In October, job losses continued in instruments, industrial machinery, aircraft, apparel, and textiles. Lumber and furniture continued their slow growth, and rubber and plastics products also added jobs in October.

Overall, nonfarm payroll employment rose by 310,000 in October to 129.3 million, after seasonal adjustment. This large increase follows little growth in September; the average job gain over the 2 months was 176,000.

These data are a product of the BLS

Current Employment Statistics program. Data for September and October are preliminary. Find out more in "The Employment Situation: October 1999," news release USDL 99-315.