OPUS International
Industry Update - March 2026

Labor market
Food manufacturing employment was 1.780 million in February 2026, down 1,700 jobs month over month from 1.7818 million in January and down about 1,100 jobs year over year from 1.7812 million in February 2025. Production and nonsupervisory employment was 1.4076 million in February, essentially flat versus January. Average hourly earnings in food manufacturing were $28.52, with average weekly hours at 39.6.

Job openings
BLS’s monthly JOLTS release does not separately publish food manufacturing job openings in the headline industry tables, so the best public monthly proxy is broader manufacturing and nondurable goods. In January 2026, U.S. manufacturing job openings rose to 495,000 from 426,000 in December; nondurable goods openings rose to 151,000 from 124,000. That points to a somewhat firmer hiring backdrop entering Q1, though it is still a cautious labor market overall.

Consumer behavior
Consumer demand still looks value-conscious but not collapsing. USDA says U.S. consumers spent 58.9% of total food dollars away from home in 2024, a record share, while food’s share of disposable income fell to 10.4% from 10.6% in 2023. At the same time, February CPI shows food-at-home prices up 2.4% year over year and food-away-from-home up 3.9%, with full-service meals up 4.6%. In practical terms, shoppers are still spending, but many are balancing restaurant spending with price sensitivity in grocery aisles.

What shoppers seem to be favoring
The public-company news flow suggests three clear themes: value, health/protein, and simpler formulations. Reuters reports that large food and beverage companies are adapting to GLP-1-driven demand shifts with smaller pack sizes and shorter ingredient lists. That same theme is showing up in product launches and portfolio decisions across large packaged-food companies.

Large-company news this month
Campbell’s cut its fiscal 2026 sales and profit outlook after soft demand in snacks such as pretzels and chips, a sign that discretionary packaged-snack demand remains under pressure. General Mills reaffirmed guidance, but said weak consumer demand persists and is pushing harder into protein-oriented offerings. Kraft Heinz said it will launch a high-protein Mac & Cheese, another signal that major brands are chasing changing nutrition preferences. Unilever is reportedly exploring a separation of its food assets, reflecting continued portfolio reshaping across the sector.

Bottom line
The sector looks stable but selective. Employment in food manufacturing is basically flat, job openings improved at the broader manufacturing level, and consumer demand is still there, but it is being redirected toward value, protein/health, and cleaner-label positioning. For hiring, that usually means the strongest demand remains in R&D, FSQA, plant leadership, process improvement, and commercial roles tied to growth categories. This last point is an inference from the labor and company data rather than a single published statistic.