For-hire trucking employment posted gains for the second consecutive month in August—but the summer increases still haven’t been enough to make up for big declines over the spring.
Trucking added 3,400 jobs last month, according to the latest jobs report from the U.S. Dept. of Labor. Still, trucking has lost 5,900 jobs since the all-time high posted in January, and there are 700 fewer jobs than in August last year.
This comes as the overall U.S. economy added 151,000 jobs, slightly less than expected by economists and significantly lower than big gains in June and July . The national unemployment rate held at 4.9%, still running at levels last recorded in 2008.
The August gain puts the for-hire trucking total at 1.4597 million, that’s 222,600 (18%) more trucking jobs in August than were reported in March 2010, the low point in the economic downturn.
Collectively the transportation and warehousing jumped by 14,900 jobs in August, posting growth in most sectors, although water transportation employment was off slightly.
Gains in the broader economy occurred in food services and drinking places (+34,000), social assistance (+22,000), professional and technical services (+20,000), and health care (+14,000).
Employment in several other industries—including construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, temporary help services, and government—changed little over the month.
Employment in mining continued to trend down in August (-4,000). Since reaching a peak in September 2014, employment in mining has declined by 223,000, with losses concentrated in support activities for mining.
