When manufacturers face uncertainty in the economy they tend to brace themselves, rather than make new capital investments.

Kurt Bauer, president and CEO of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, earlier this month estimated that about half of WMC’s 3,700 members have reported being negatively impacted by tariffs, while many also support tariffs as they relate to China.

Economists have said while the CES data is the best estimate for recent months, an upward revision in manufacturing data is anticipated when the survey data is compared with the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages next spring.

The QCEW, which runs about six months behind the survey data and has been referred to as the “gold standard” for tracking job creation in the state, has yet to show a significant year-over-year decline. It found the state had 480,926 manufacturing jobs in March, nearly 12,000 more than the previous March.

The last QCEW year-over-year decline came in February 2017.

Preliminary CES data last month showed a loss of 5,200 jobs in the August after a year-over-year loss of 3,300 jobs in July. On Thursday, revised CES numbers for August showed a 3,200 drop in manufacturing jobs compared with August 2018.

Wisconsin’s manufacturing industry is the state’s largest employer, representing nearly 16% of the state’s workforce.

Get Election 2020 & Politics updates in your inbox! Keep up on the latest in national and local politics as Election 2020 comes into focus. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.