The January jobs report found the manufacturing sector making big gains, adding approximately 50,000 positions for those with knowledge of the skilled trades at U.S. factories.
Economists said new orders rose to a nine-month high last month, thanks in part to increased demand for vehicles. According to USA Today, of the 50,000 increase in factory employment, 44,000 of those positions came from makers of durable goods such as cars, metals and other parts used in the automotive industry.
"There's reason to be optimistic," says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, told the news agency. Zandi had predicted manufacturing employment would be flat this year, but now estimates payrolls will rise by approximately 250,000, which would be the industry's third-straight annual increase after years of steady declines.
Since late last year, the automobile industry has been hiring more workers with experience in the skilled trades to make up for lost sales due to last summer's earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, almost half of all auto parts manufacturing jobs are located in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio, with an increasing number of positions being added in other parts of the U.S., particularly the South.
