The employment index of the ISM Manufacturing PMI inched higher to 48.8 in February of 2026 from 48.1 in the previous month. The result marked one consecutive year of monthly declines in employment levels. source: Institute for Supply Management

ISM Manufacturing Employment in the United States averaged 50.07 points from 1950 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 73.70 points in February of 1951 and a record low of 27.80 points in May of 1982. This page includes a chart with historical data for the United States ISM Manufacturing Employment. United States ISM Manufacturing Employment - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on March of 2026.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2026-02-02 03:00 PM
ISM Manufacturing Employment
Jan 48.1 44.8 44.8
2026-03-02 03:00 PM
ISM Manufacturing Employment
Feb 48.8 48.1 48
2026-04-01 02:00 PM
ISM Manufacturing Employment
Mar 48.8


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
ISM Manufacturing PMI 52.40 52.60 points Feb 2026
ISM Manufacturing Backlog of Orders 56.60 51.60 points Feb 2026
ISM Manufacturing Employment 48.80 48.10 points Feb 2026
ISM Manufacturing Inventories 48.80 47.60 points Feb 2026
ISM Manufacturing New Orders 55.80 57.10 points Feb 2026
ISM Manufacturing Prices 70.50 59.00 points Feb 2026
ISM Manufacturing Production 53.50 55.90 points Feb 2026
ISM Manufacturing Supplier Deliveries 55.10 54.40 points Feb 2026
ISM Services Business Activity 59.90 57.40 points Feb 2026
ISM Services Employment 51.80 50.30 points Feb 2026
ISM Services New Orders 58.60 53.10 points Feb 2026
ISM Services Prices 63.00 66.60 points Feb 2026


United States ISM Manufacturing Employment
The Manufacturing ISM Report On Business is based on data compiled from purchasing and supply executives nationwide. Survey responses reflect the change, if any, in the current month compared to the previous month. For each of the indicators measured (New Orders, Backlog of Orders, New Export Orders, Imports, Production, Supplier Deliveries, Inventories, Customers' Inventories, Employment and Prices), the report shows the percentage reporting each response, the net difference between the number of responses in the positive economic direction and the negative economic direction, and the diffusion index. A PMI reading above 50 percent indicates that the manufacturing economy is generally expanding; below 50 percent indicates that it is generally declining.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
48.80 48.10 73.70 27.80 1950 - 2026 points Monthly
SA