The News
The Reshoring Initiative counted about 247,000 US factory jobs announced through reshoring and foreign direct investment in 2025, roughly 1% more than in 2024. Reshoring accounted for 152,734 jobs and foreign direct investment for another 94,329.
These are announced jobs, not confirmed hires. Of 64 conditional announcements in 2025, 14 had become fully or partly confirmed projects by mid-2026.
The group's report says reshoring “is increasingly driven by long-term business strategy rather than short-term disruptions.”
The details
Transportation equipment led the announcements, as investment shifted from batteries toward complete vehicles. The category, which includes vehicles, drones and ships, accounted for 48,786 jobs, or 20% of the total.
Computer and electronic products came next with 44,877 jobs, down from 86,127 in 2024.
Electrical equipment, which includes EV batteries, fell to 36,188 jobs from 75,900.
Chemicals, including pharmaceuticals, accounted for another 37,265 jobs.
High- and medium-high-technology products made up 90% of announced jobs, up from 88%.
South Korean companies accounted for the most announced jobs by country, while Texas attracted the most investment by state. South Korea accounted for 24,521 jobs, or 23% of announcements that identified a home country. Texas drew 31,910 jobs, or 14% of the total.
China (11,260 jobs) and Mexico (10,368) followed South Korea. The report identifies China as the largest source of reshored work.
North Carolina (21,387) and Georgia (20,677) followed Texas.
Tariffs became a more common reason for reshoring, though they still ranked 10th among the factors companies cited. Companies mentioned tariffs 146 times in 2025, up from 11 in 2024.
Local supplier ecosystems led with 608 citations, followed by proximity to customers (516) and skilled workers (472).
Government incentives fell to 469 citations from 752 in 2024.
In the Reshoring Initiative's 2026 survey, 36% of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) said they had reshored or were in the process, up from 29%. Policy uncertainty was the top concern, cited by 57% of respondents.
Actual US factory employment moved in the opposite direction. Manufacturing payrolls fell by 113,000 in 2025, ending December at 12.58 million, down from 12.69 million a year earlier, Bureau of Labor Statistics data show. Employment has since recovered by 72,000, reaching 12.65 million in September 2026.
Payrolls fell in every month of 2025.
Employment remains 251,000 below its January 2023 peak of 12.90 million.
Worth noting
Announcements remain well below their 2022 peak. The Reshoring Initiative counted a record 364,000 announced jobs that year, when semiconductor and EV battery plants accounted for 53% of the total. Announcements have since hovered around 245,000 a year.
What's next
The Reshoring Initiative forecasts about 309,000 announced jobs in 2026, roughly 25% more than in 2025, based on first-half announcements. It says the figure could reach 400,000 if the surge in announcements from July through September continues.
(Photo: Homa Appliances / Unsplash)
