Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) accused President Donald Trump’s economic policies of contributing to manufacturing job losses in Michigan, citing recent layoffs and claiming the state has lost about 12,000 manufacturing jobs since Trump took office.
Slotkin Cites Michigan Manufacturing Job Losses
On Sunday, in a post on X, Slotkin said, “Michigan has lost about 12,000 manufacturing jobs in the year and a half since the president has taken office.”
In a video accompanying the post, she said, “When President Trump took office in January of 2025, there were 595,000 Michiganders working directly in a manufacturing job.”
She cited job cuts at several companies, including 150 positions at SK Siltron near Saginaw, another 250 at a company she referred to as being in “Catalytic,” and 100 in Ann Arbor.
“But the net total is 12,000 manufacturing jobs lost,” Slotkin said, adding that industries supporting manufacturing also suffer when factories cut jobs.
“President Trump’s economic policies are certainly contributing to the loss of these manufacturing jobs,” she added.
Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed Michigan had 578,700 manufacturing jobs in January 2025, compared with 579,200 in January 2026, a net increase of 500 jobs over the 12 months.
Economists Flag Uneven Job Growth
Last month, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said American workers were “WINNING again” under Republican policies, citing tax breaks, bigger paychecks, one million private-sector jobs and investment in domestic manufacturing.
In August, economist Justin Wolfers described the U.S. labor market as a “pink collar” economy after the country lost 23,000 jobs in July.
Healthcare added 22,000 positions, while retail trade lost 19,000 and local government education shed 50,000. He also highlighted downward revisions that reduced May and June job gains by a combined 103,000.
In July, Steve Rattner said nearly all U.S. job growth since President Donald Trump returned to office came from health care and education, while manufacturing lost about 113,000 jobs between November 2024 and June 2026, despite Trump’s tariffs aimed at bringing manufacturing and jobs back to the U.S.
US Job Growth Slowed In September
The U.S. economy added 29,000 jobs in September, below expectations of 90,000, while unemployment rose to 4.2%. Downward revisions showed July and August had 60,000 fewer jobs combined than initially reported.
Healthcare added 17,000 jobs, manufacturing gained 9,000, while financial activities lost 7,000.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo courtesy: USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
