Trucking Adds 1,100 Jobs in November, Department of Labor Reports
For-hire trucking gained 1,100 jobs in November, while overall payrolls increased by 178,000, the Labor Department reported Dec. 2.
Transportation and warehousingĚý—Ěýwhich includes truckingĚý— gained 8,900 positions, and the couriers and messengers sector gained 5,700 positions, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.
The rise in payrolls follows a 142,000 gain in October that was less than previously estimated. The total jobless rate declined 0.3% to 4.6%, Bloomberg News reported.
A steady job market signals employers were willing to keep hiring in the days before and after the Nov. 8 presidential election, according to Bloomberg.
“The labor market is still healthy, and perhaps operating at or beyond capacity,” Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York told Bloomberg. “Wages can be volatile month to month. I’d tend to put a little more weight on the unemployment rate when thinking about future developments and wage inflation.”
The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for a 180,000 rise in payrolls.
Warehousing and storage position increased by 3,100 and but air transportation jobs declined by 1,000, according to BLS.
The underemployment rate — which includes part-time workers who’d prefer a full-time position and people who want to work but have given up looking — fell 0.2 percentage point to 9.3%. While that’s the lowest since April 2008, it compares with 8.4% in November 2007, the month before the last recession began, Bloomberg reported.
Payrolls at factories fell by 4,000, after a 5,000 decline in the previous month. Retailers reduced payrolls by 8,300. Employment in leisure and hospitality rose by 29,000.
Unemployment rate declines to 4.6% in November; payroll employment increases by 178,000 — BLS-Labor Statistics (@BLS_gov)
