"President Donald Trump arrived in Detroit on Tuesday to celebrate what he called a historic manufacturing revival, boasting that "investment is booming" and turbocharging growth. But the auto industry's supposed recovery has yet to show up where it matters most for workers: payrolls. Manufacturing jobs, including in the automotive sector, have declined every month since Liberation Day, according to labor data."
"Standing in the car-making capital of the world, the President spent nearly an hour detailing an $18 trillion global investment surge and a stock market that has set 48 records in eleven months. "Growth is exploding, productivity is soaring, investment is booming," the President claimed. "We have quickly gone from the worst numbers on record to the best and strongest.""
"While the capital is indeed pouring in, investment is not translating into payrolls. The manufacturing sector has shed approximately 72,000 jobs since the April tariff announcements, with auto manufacturing bearing the brunt of the losses. This disconnect defined much of the economic narrative around 2025 and is set to become the defining paradox of the 2026 economy: a "jobless boom" in which GDP growth-projected by the Atlanta Fed at a robust 5.4% for the fourth quarter-is decoupling from blue-collar employment."
A Detroit event framed a historic manufacturing revival, citing booming investment and repeated stock-market records. Large auto commitments included $5 billion from Ford, $13 billion from Stellantis, and major reshoring at General Motors, totaling more than $70 billion of new auto investment. Despite heavy capital inflows, manufacturing payrolls have fallen each month since Liberation Day, with roughly 72,000 jobs lost since April tariff announcements and auto manufacturing hit hardest. The economy faces a "jobless boom" as GDP growth (Atlanta Fed projection 5.4% for Q4) decouples from blue-collar employment, while business surveys report continued softness in manufacturing.
Read at Fortune
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