Manufacturing employment fell by 161,000 in March, with further widespread job losses occurring across all component industries. Factory employment has declined by 1 million over the past 6 months. In March, the largest decreases occurred in fabricated metal products (-28,000), machinery (-27,000), and transportation equipment (-26,000).  There stands a glimmer of hope for the manufacturing sector as its possible the bottom is near in these areas, as the mass layoffs announced in Q4 and early Q1 have subsided. Some stability might be returning as small job opportunities have emerged in recent weeks.  Also, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) index indicated that manufacturing orders were up in March. 

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