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Manufacturing Jobs & Market Report | June 2026

Data released last week are a mixed-bag, as manufacturing employment backed-up nationally in final 2025 numbers and showed further weakness through April of 2026, even as Texas continues to be a national leader.

Here are the highs and lows from final 2025 data – and data reported through April 2026. 

(We utilize two sources: QCEW, or quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, more reliable long-term and the source for final 2025 data. And CES, or Current Employment Statistics that tracks more recent company-provided information.)

National

• US manufacturing employment was down in 2025 – losing 155,000 jobs year-over-year in final QCEW data – ending the year at 12,577,655 jobs. Manufacturing employment continues to lose ground to the Biden-era high of 12,868,061 jobs, achieved by end-of-2023.

• All but four states experienced manufacturing employment declines. The outliers were:

• Nevada

• Oklahoma

• Texas

• Utah

• Only two sectors showed year-over-year growth, nationally:

• Food Manufacturing, with a net national gain of 7800 jobs

• Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing, with a net gain of 12,400 jobs

The numbers are a setback to national policy efforts to optimize global trends driving manufacturing onshore, and local trends that point to increasing demand for US-made products. Call it a missed opportunity.

Texas Continues to Shine

• Final 2025 employment data shows that Texas gained 14,300 jobs year-over-year, or growth of 1.5% to 988,000 jobs.

• Nine sectors in Texas added manufacturing jobs in 2025. The industry leaders were:

• Transportation Equipment Manufacturing – 11,000 jobs. (Automotive and Aerospace are included in NAICS Transportation tracking.)

• Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing – 2500 jobs

• Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing – 1200 jobs

• Primary Metal Manufacturing – 885 jobs

• Chemical Manufacturing – 770 jobs

Manufacturing Wage Report

Manufacturing wages nationally and in Texas continue to grow and outpace US employment generally. 

• Average annual manufacturing wages grew 7% or $4,030, to $89,481, compared to total economy US average annual wage of $78,722.

• Average manufacturing wages in Texas exceeded the national average by 8% – at $97,510, a 3.2% year-over-year raise or roughly $3,000 per year. The Top 5 sector-wages in Texas manufacturing are:

• Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing – $170,444 per year

• Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing – $160,453

• Chemical Manufacturing – $140,148

• Transportation Equipment Manufacturing – $109,332

• Machinery Manufacturing – $101,567

• California manufacturing wages are tops in the US – at $132,297 per year, or an 8% increase of nearly $9,000 per year. Great for employees given California’s high cost-of-living. Not so great for employers: California bled roughly 47,000 manufacturing jobs in 2025, or 4%, for a total of 1,216,214 jobs.

April 2026 Employment Report

Despite macro-trends that favor manufacturing, companies report ongoing unease with hiring through April of 2026 – a trend we’ve reported on since January. 

• Company reporting in Texas suggests further job-market softening, with overall manufacturing employment forecast down in April 1.2% year-over-year, to 976,700 jobs. 

• Only seven states with more than 100,000 manufacturing employees report employment growth year-over-year in April –  and all pegged growth at less than 1%.
  

Texas’ major industrial competitors are lagging behind. Some, like California, seem their own worst enemy. Others just haven't put the pieces together in a cohesive way – even as they boast incredible assets. For example, Colorado’s rich and influential food and beverage ecosystem rates barely a mention from leaders intent on promised quantum-computing outcomes.

Utah tops the list of states with more than 100,000 manufacturing employees that have outperformed the rest in relative terms. Indexing gains or losses to a mean of 100, the top 10 states in America for manufacturing employment growth since 2020 are:

State |  # of Jobs |  % change Since 2020

1. Nevada | 68K | 14.5%

2. Utah | 152K | 10.6%

3. Florida | 427K | 9.3%

4. Idaho | 76K | 8.4%

5. Texas | 977K | 7.8%

6. Arizona | 193K | 6.6%

7. Georgia | 428K | 6.1%

8. Wyoming | 10K | 5.1%

9. Alabama | 283K | 4.7%

10. North Dakota | 28K | 4.5%

Bart Taylor is president of the Greater Houston Manufacturers Association. Contact him at [email protected].

[Thanks to Brian Lewandowski at CU Leeds School/Business Research Division for contributing to this report.]