Acting Labor Sec’y on Why Manufacturing Jobs Fell: They’re Up ‘Cumulatively’

During an interview with Bloomberg on Friday, acting Labor Secretary Julie Su responded to a question on why manufacturing jobs have declined by stating that manufacturing jobs have risen since the start of the Biden-Harris administration and that’s “part of the promise that we will make things in America again,” and is “happening because of real investments and a commitment to job growth.”

Co-host Katie Greifeld asked, “[L]et’s take a look at the specifics at the sector level, because you take a look at the manufacturing industry, it lost 24,000 jobs. The estimate had been for a reduction of 2,000 jobs. And actually, the last three of four reports, I believe, that sector has shed jobs. So, what’s the current view on why employment in manufacturing has been weakening?”

Su responded, “So, I would say, cumulatively, again, the number of manufacturing jobs created since the Biden-Harris administration began is over 700,000 jobs. This is also part of the promise that we will make things in America again, from semiconductors to electric vehicle batteries. The idea is that American workers are the best in the world and they can and should be making things. The investments that are going into communities are also using American-made steel by American union workers and raw materials mined by American union workers. And so, the job growth that we have seen, which, again, was not promised, most people predicted that it would not happen the way that it has, is not happening by accident. It’s happening because of real investments and a commitment to job growth. So, when you look at the overall trends, manufacturing has gone up since the president came to office, construction had significant growth over this last month, and that is also no accident.”

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