While unemployment in the U.S. fell in August, the trucking industry added no jobs and the number of jobs added the month before was revised sharply lower, according to the U.S. Labor Department.

The total unemployment rate fell to 7.3%, the lowest level in nearly five years due to net gain of 169,000 jobs. The August decline is partially being attributed to around 300,000 people dropping out of the workforce. The Labor Department also downwardly revised job gains in June and July by 74,000.

In the for-hire trucking sector, job growth was flat following the addition of 400 jobs in July, also downwardly revised from an originally reported 6,300 increase.

In the overall transportation sector, which includes trucking, jobs in August increased by 12,000, but the department also downwardly revised its originally reported figure of a 4,600 gain in July to a loss of 13,900.

American Trucking Associations Chief Economist Bob Costello described the jobs report as “not good” in a Tweet on Friday morning, though he noted the increase in net jobs was around what he was expecting.

About the author
Evan Lockridge

Evan Lockridge

Former Business Contributing Editor

Trucking journalist since 1990, in the news business since early ‘80s.

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