San Antonio has lost 2,000 manufacturing jobs within the last two years as uncertainty around the global economy and trade have slowed down employment.
It’s part of a nationwide trend, said Luis Torres, a senior business economist at the Dallas branch of the Federal Reserve: Foreign conflicts have impacted global energy markets. Tariffs and uncertainty around the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement are affecting trade in North America.
“The overall trend in the U.S., manufacturing has been declining,” Torres said. “That trend we see in manufacturing jobs, it’s not just a San Antonio thing.”
In September 2024, San Antonio had 62,400 manufacturing jobs, according to the Dallas Fed. That’s the most since the bank started recording data in 1990. Yet by June 2026, that number had dropped to 60,400, a 3.2% drop over two years.
But many San Antonio experts aren’t concerned. They say more jobs are on the way.
Greater:SATX, a regional organization tasked with bringing businesses and jobs to the San Antonio region, attributes the decline to the labor market settling after a peak. In the meantime, Toyota and JCB are set to boost hiring as the major manufacturers open new facilities over the next five years.
Other, smaller manufacturers, are still setting up shop in the area. New employers, like Japanese manufacturer Sanko, have targeted the South Side and the U.S. Interstate 35 corridor between San Antonio and Austin, where British plastics manufacturer RGE Group announced a factory earlier this year.
“Manufacturing employers continue to show significant interest and activity in the region. In fact, over the last 5 years, San Antonio led the nation in manufacturing job growth among the top 50 metros,” said Jamie Bloodsworth Lutrell, a spokesperson for Greater:SATX.
In the long-term, Bloodsworth Lutrell said, the two-year decline is a part of “typical labor-market dynamics.” Bloodsworth Lutrell said Greater:SATX is currently working on projects that could result in an additional 21,000 manufacturing jobs and $11 billion in investment.
Other manufacturers don’t see their jobs going away anytime soon.
“While we have seen reports indicating slight declines in manufacturing employment overall, Toyotetsu Texas has not experienced reductions in labor over the past year,” said Leslie Cantu, vice president of administration for Toyotetsu Texas, which supplies auto body parts to the nearby Toyota factory.
Even with that decline, Cantu said, San Antonio’s manufacturing future is positive. Nearby, for example, Toyota is preparing to invest $3.6 billion and create 2,000 more jobs for a new assembly line.
The decline in manufacturing employment could also be creating higher demand for available jobs. Cantu has noticed an increase in applicants.
At a job fair for JCB, the British manufacturer that’s building a new facility on the South Side, 1,000 people showed up to submit resumes and sit down for interviews. Rick Barquero is leading the effort to staff the facility, which will employ 1,500 people by the time it’s fully operational in 2030.
The hiring fair was three times larger than Barquero expected, he said, and a sign that San Antonio workers are interested in manufacturing careers.
“The skillsets of the people that are coming are very strong,” Barquero said. “We anticipated it. We didn’t know how good or strong it would be. Today it’s been proven that we were correct.”
David Farenthold, a quality engineer who is trying to get back into the manufacturing industry, recently sat down for an interview at JCB’s hiring fair.
He says he is positive about the job search because more large factories are opening.
“It’s a great opportunity,” he said. “With JCB here now, [the job search] is better.”
Xavier Arriaga and Antonia Reyes also attended the hiring fair. Arriaga worked in plumbing and electrical systems, but wanted to transition to a reputable company that’s expanding.
“I don’t think it’s hard to find,” he said, regarding job opportunities.
Both Reyes and Arriaga said they’re not exclusively interested in manufacturing jobs, but appreciate a stable opportunity with dependable pay.
Adrian Lopez is the CEO for Workforce Solutions Alamo. He said employers in the sector are having little trouble filling jobs. At the beginning of the year, San Antonio’s largest manufacturers were filling positions in 20-30 days.
“They definitely have more people to choose from,” Lopez said. “Employers see that as a benefit.”
John Rodriguez was hired with Cox Manufacturing in March, which produces precision screws in San Antonio. He went through a 10-week manufacturing training program with Goodwill and was also supported by the City of San Antonio’s Ready to Work program.
“Applying was not difficult,” he said.
He received support from Goodwill on how to prepare for his interview, but the job search took just two weeks, he said.
Despite challenges in international trade and global supply chains that make production more difficult and expensive, Torres has seen the same optimism from businesses across Texas. He looks at responses from Texas manufacturers to statewide surveys. Those comments are positive — employers are projecting a strong, growing economy despite the increase in costs.
Losses have come in non-durable goods manufacturing, Torres said, a sub-sector that makes up 30% of manufacturing jobs. Those are products like food that can be stored, but have an average life of less than three years. He pointed to Bimbo, a bakery that closed and laid off 138 workers in July 2024.
Barquero said workers who are leaving non-durable manufacturing have transferable skills, and their experience will help them when they’re applying at places like JCB.
“It’s unbelievable, the skillsets we’ve seen from a lot of these candidates,” Barquero said.
