DETROIT — The U.S. auto industry now employs more workers than it has at any time since March 2008, at the beginning of the Great Recession when the industry and economy in general started a sharp descent.
In January, the U.S. auto industry added 6,700 jobs, raising total employment for the industry to 913,200, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Labor on Friday.
The data were part of unemployment numbers released Friday that showed it edging higher to 5.7 percent from 5.6 percent, even though the U.S. economy added a better-than-expected 257,000 jobs in January, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The gain was higher than the 230,000 gain that economists expected for the month.
The slight uptick in the unemployment rate was caused by an increase in the number of people looking for jobs, which some view as a possible indication of an improving economy as some long-term unemployed restart job searches because they see more opportunity in the employment market.
“The January employment report was strong across the board,” said Michelle Girard, an economy at RBS Securities, in a note to clients. “While benchmark and seasonal factor revisions affect many of the month-to-month changes, even looking through that noise, the data were clearly very healthy.”
Throughout the recession, the nation’s automotive industry has been leading the nation’s economic recovery.
In January, manufacturers added 22,000 jobs compared to the prior month. Over the past 12 months, manufacturing has added 228,000 jobs.
General Motors, Ford and Chrysler now employ about 141,000 U.S. hourly workers, up from about 111,000 in 2011.
Over the past week, the Detroit Three each announced they would pay profit sharing to those workers according to a contract signed in 2011. GM said it will pay up to $9,000 while Ford will pay an average of $4,800 and Chrysler will pay $2,750.
However, wage growth in the manufacturing industry has not followed the job growth.
Manufacturing wages have declined 4.4 percent from $16.38 per hour in 2003 to $15.66 as of 2013, according to a recent report from the National Employment Law Project.
Wages in the automotive sector have dropped 21 percent from $31.45 in 2003 to $24.83 in 2013 for automotive manufacturers.
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