US manufacturing employment is still below its January 2025 level despite job gains this year

Factories employed 12,652,000 people in September, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics: up 72,000 from a December 2025 low but about 21,000 below January 2025, when Trump returned to office. In an AP report carried by ABC News, laid-off workers blame tariffs. Clockmaker Howard Miller closed its Zeeland, Michigan, factory last year and laid off nearly 200 workers; its clock sales were already falling and it relied on imported parts before the tariffs. The report does not say how much the tariffs drove the closure.

Both sides of the argument:

• Laid-off designer Nelson Vandermeer, who voted Republican for decades: “So much for bringing jobs back.” He plans to vote straight Democrat.
• White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers cites growth in factory output and construction jobs: “Factory construction jobs of today mean more manufacturing jobs down the road.”