America's blue-collar workforce is shrinking

"The 'manufacturing recession' - underway for years - got uglier. The sector lost 12,000 jobs in August, the fourth consecutive month of shrinking employment. The industry had 78,000 fewer workers last month, relative to the same period a year ago. Construction shed jobs for the third straight month. Wholesale trade - a sector that includes transportation, warehouse staff and material handlers - has lost 32,000 workers since May."

"On the demand side: Tariffs raise the cost of foreign-made inputs needed to assemble goods. That might crimp demand, which might force manufacturers to slash workers. "We've implemented our second price increase. 'Made in the USA' has become even more difficult due to tariffs on many components," an electric equipment manufacturer said in the Institute for Supply Management's monthly survey, released this week. "In two rounds of layoffs, we have let go of about 15 percent of our U.S. workforce," the manufacturer added."

"On the supply side: Even if employers have the appetite to bring on staff, they can't hire workers who are not available. The immigration crackdown is impacting sectors that rely more heavily on those workers. Despite the lack of hiring, the unemployment rate in the construction sector tied the lowest on record in August, according to Ken Simonson, chief economist at the Associated General Contractors of America, a sector trade group. That "likely is a result of workers leaving the industry to avoid being swept up in immigration enforcement actions," Simonson said in a statement."

Manufacturing employment fell for the fourth consecutive month, with 12,000 jobs lost in August and 78,000 fewer workers than a year earlier. Construction employment declined for a third straight month, while wholesale trade has lost 32,000 workers since May. Tariffs have raised costs for foreign-made inputs, prompting price increases and forcing some manufacturers into layoffs. Immigration enforcement has reduced worker availability in industries that rely on immigrant labor, contributing to low sector unemployment rates despite weak hiring. Employers face combined demand pressures from trade policy and supply constraints from labor shortages.

Read at Axios