Trump’s Factory Boom Stalled for Now as Payrolls Keep Shrinking

A renaissance in US manufacturing promised by President Donald Trump seems, at least for now, to be moving in reverse.

Manufacturing payrolls fell for the fourth straight month in August, slipping by 12,000 from a month earlier, Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday showed. That’s the longest stretch of declines since 2020. Over the past year, employment in the sector is down by nearly 80,000.

The malaise at US factories echoes a broader jobs market slowdown that economists have largely described as a low hiring, low firing environment. Still, cracks are beginning to form. US employers more ...