Where Are Those Manufacturing Jobs?

The jobs market is so-so, but tariffs are hurting domestic companies that make things

WSJ editorial. Excerpts:

"private employers aren’t laying off workers in large numbers but they also aren’t hiring all that many. The question is why?"

"Our main suspect is the impact of tariffs and the uncertainty Mr. Trump’s willy-nilly border tax policies have caused."

"Remember when tariffs were supposed to produce a U.S. manufacturing boom? It hasn’t happened. In January BLS reported 12,755,000 workers in all manufacturing industries. The number rose by a few thousand through April, but then began to fall each month and in November hit 12,697,000. That’s a net loss of 58,000 jobs, including 19,000 in the last three months."

"Further evidence comes from the industries affected most by Mr. Trump’s tariffs of 50% on steel and aluminum and 25% on autos and auto parts. Employment in motor vehicles and parts fell 15,000 since January, while it remained flat in steel-making and aluminum manufacturing."