WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The U.S.

job# market has been cooling recently,## and government data shows it's only# getting harder for Americans to find a job.

One sector that has proved tougher than most is# manufacturing.

President Trump has promised a## manufacturing boom in both his terms, but while# he's been able to get pledges for more factory## investment, the actual jobs inside those# factories tell a different story thus far.

Economics correspondent# Paul Solman has this report.

PAUL SOLMAN: The Ohio State marching# band and its featured instrument,## the brassy sousaphone, emblem of school spirit# and state pride, made just outside Cleveland.

ROB HINES, Sousaphone Buffer, Conn# Selmer: We handcraft everything.

We## have perfected the process for it and# it's been working for 58 years in our## facility.

And that's what I think you get# when you get that American craftsmanship.

PAUL SOLMAN: Rob Hines, an American craftsman,## sousaphone buffer at the Conn Selmer# plant, where he's worked for nine years.

ROB HINES: It's not an easy job.

It's a grueling# job.

But we do it because we love what we do.

PAUL SOLMAN: And what they lovingly produce,## which is why he and co-workers were stunned# when the company suddenly said it will## shutter the factory in June and relocate to# China, shunting 150 people to the street.

ROB HINES: It's a lot of fear right# now.

A lot of people are afraid.

WYATT GEORSKEY, Sousaphone Buffer, Conn# Selmer: We're talking about some of the## best brass instrument craftsmen in the world# going into job interviews and being to.. well, that's good and all, but you# don't actually have any skills.

PAUL SOLMAN: Wyatt Georskey,# another buffer.

His future?

WYATT GEORSKEY: I don't know what I'm going# to do.

We're all left in a limbo right now.

PAUL SOLMAN: Of course, some of# you have seen it as long as I have,## manufacturing jobs on the wane ever since 1979.

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United# States: Jobs and factories will come## roaring back into our country,# and you see happening already.

PAUL SOLMAN: It's a trend President# Trump has famously vowed to reverse## with tariffs and domestic investment.# Foreign leaders and business executives## have frequently visited the White House# grounds pledging to spend in the U.S.

of A. DONALD TRUMP: In 12 months, I# secured commitments for more## than $18 trillion pouring# in from all over the globe.

PAUL SOLMAN: This number is widely thought to# be implausible and almost assuredly includes## commitments that were made before Trump's second# term.

But there's no contesting the fact that,## since President Trump took office, the U.S.# has lost nearly 100,000 manufacturing jobs.

The administration and its allies, however,# tout their dedication to a turnaround.

JOHN PAULSON, Founder, Paulson &# Co.

: We need to protect American## jobs and protect American manufacturing.## We can't have Americans, American producers# closing American factories and offshoring.

PAUL SOLMAN: And yet it's this# same famed investor, John Paulson,## who owns the brass instrument# factory.

Paulson hosted a $50## million fund-raiser for President# Trump during the 2024 campaign.

ROB HINES: A lot of our members support# Trump and believed in the administration.

PAUL SOLMAN: Or did, claims# Conn Selmer union Rob Hines.

And how are people feeling about it now?

ROB HINES: Some people feel slighted.# Some people are even questioning if## Trump actually knows about the# moves his allies are making in## the dark.

Some people still believe in# administration.

Some people feel let down.

PAUL SOLMAN: In recent years, the company# had already been moving parts to China,## cheaper production, to buff the bottom# line, but at a hidden cost, says Hines.

ROB HINES: We have seen over the# last year the quality deteriorate## just from trying to integrate those foreign parts.

PAUL SOLMAN: Wait, the myopic maximizing# of shareholder value we have heard so much## about?

Or do the workers here# just see what they want to see?

ROB HINES: I don't think it would be# just because it's in our interest.

As## somebody who works with these parts day# in and day out, six days a week, we see## the quality, and the employees have complained# about the quality.

And it's fallen on deaf ears.

PAUL SOLMAN: Meanwhile, the job attrition# in Wyatt Georskey's part of the plant.

WYATT GEORSKEY: At times, it's been over 100,# and now we're down to this group of 16 of us## who are sending out the last American-made# French horns and sousaphones and tubas.

PAUL SOLMAN: Plus, there's another cost# often ignored when a plant goes under,## the loss of internal community.

ROB HINES: That's just as big a weight# as losing your job financially.

I mean,## it might sound kind of bizarre to say,# but a lot of people are devastated,## because we have people 40, 50# years have been working together.

WYATT GEORSKEY: It's been a tragedy, right,## not only for community, but for# bar buddies and friends everywhere.

PAUL SOLMAN: But that too has# been happening for eons.

In fact,## the destruction of all those jobs down on the# farm is what helped create the manufacturing## boom of the last century.

But is there no way to# protect American jobs from foreign competition?

The push now is, let's get manufacturers from here## and especially abroad to bring their# manufacturing to the United States,## which is then supposedly going to create# more jobs than at least are here now.

ROBERT LAWRENCE, Harvard# University: The question is,## how significant would those jo.. PAUL SOLMAN: Trade economist Robert Lawrence.

ROBERT LAWRENCE: We had a $1.2 tril.. Suppose all the money that is going abroad# would be used to buy American goods.

PAUL SOLMAN: Even under such a fantasy,# how much would actual factory floor jobs## increase?

Professor Lawrence estimates# less than 1 percent.

And, of course,## American-made products would then# cost more.

In addition, he says: ROBERT LAWRENCE: If we were self-sufficient,## what would it do to the opportunities for the# typical worker in the United States who doesn't## have a college education?

Would it create# large numbers of employment opportunities?## That's basically what's been driving our# policies.

And the answer is very little.

But, in addition, those jobs# are increasingly likely to## be displaced as a result of increased automation.

PAUL SOLMAN: And perhaps increasingly likely# to be overpromised, like two Ohio Intel plants.

TIM BUBB, Licking County, Ohio, Commissioner:# Intel promised 5,000 jobs into construction.## We're seeing less than half that, and 3,000# permanent jobs to man those two plants and## manufacture silicon chips.

Frankly, I think that's# overpromised and underdelivered, as they say.

PAUL SOLMAN: Licking County Commissioner Tim# Bubb, where the Intel project is located.

Is it an unrealistic expectation that we're## going to have lots more manufacturing# jobs in this country than we used to?

TIM BUBB: Well, I'm not going# to go as far as unrealistic, but## you don't want to be overly optimistic.

We're# still an expensive labor market.

We have## competitors around the world.

It's a world# market now in Asia and other places that## have been pretty darn competitive in# manufacturing and shipping to this country.

PAUL SOLMAN: More over, ads Bubb: TIM BUBB: One of the problems we have# in this country is trained work force.## You can move manufacturing plants back# here, but who's going to work in them?

PAUL SOLMAN: But at the Alliance for American# Manufacturing, the watchword is patience.

SCOTT PAUL, President, Alliance for# American Manufacturing: Just as it## took a couple of decades# for us to de.. I don't think that we're going to see# immediate results in manufacturing.

PAUL SOLMAN: Scott Paul runs the Alliance.

SCOTT PAUL: I'm optimistic that over time, we# will see manufacturing job growth com.. both the massive amount of construction that's# going on right now, the trade deficit coming## down a little bit, and a reshoring trend that was# already under way before Trump became president.

PAUL SOLMAN: So he says manufacturing jobs# won't be stuck forever at today's lower level,## and new corporate investment promised by# Trump will be part of the renaissance.## The U.S., he says, added a million# manufacturing jobs between 2010 and 2019,## when many thought that simply wouldn't happen.

SCOTT PAUL: It's not impossible to regrow the# sector if we have the right policies.

There## might be a ceiling on the manufacturing job# growth that we can see because of automation## and productivity, but that doesn't mean that# we can't grow the sector again over time.

PAUL SOLMAN: Patience is a luxury for# the likes of Wyatt Georskey, though.

WYATT GEORSKEY: I'm not even thinking day# to day.

I'm thinking second to second.## All I'm thinking is, can I get enough# sousaphones out, can I get enough tubas## out that they won't close this plant at# a whim because they see productivity dip?

All I can think about are the people around# me and my duty to them and to our legacy## to keep the place open just a little# longer so we can get a few paychecks.

PAUL SOLMAN: As of last week,# the plant was still open,## the paychecks still being issued.

But# the deadline seems to be the end of June.

For the "PBS News Hour," Paul Solman.