For-hire trucking added 4,400 jobs in July, while employers in total hired 117,000 workers in the same month, according to an Associated Press report by Christopher S. Rugaber datelined today.
The news item pointed out that the preliminary July figure for trucking bettered the same month a year ago by 40,800 jobs and amounted to 48,200 jobs more than recorded at the lowest point of the downturn, March 2010. “But the current total is still 171,900 jobs shy of the industry peak in early 2007 — a slip of 11.8%,” observed Rugaber.
The reporter also stated that overall hiring “picked up slightly in July and the unemployment rate dipped to 9.1%, an optimistic sign after the worst day on Wall Street [yesterday] in nearly three years. Employers added 117,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said Friday. That’s better than the past two months, which were also revised higher.”
July’s hiring was broad-based, noted Rugaber. Manufacturers added 24,000; retailers a net total of 26,000 employees; healthcare 31,000; and hotels/restaurants 17,000 jobs.
