New data released by the Department of Labor last week presents a more positive picture of trucking employment through the first half of 2019 than indicated by earlier, preliminary data.
Instead of a lackluster 400 jobs added since January — compared to the nearly 50,000 between December 2017 and December 2018 — the DOL’s upwardly revised numbers indicate the for-hire trucking industry added 7,300 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis in 2019’s second quarter and 11,700 jobs since the beginning of the year.
According to the DOL’s monthly Employment Situation Report, the second-quarter upswing was capped by a 4,300-job uptick in June. The U.S. economy as a whole added 224,000 jobs in June, and the unemployment rate climbed a tenth of a percent to 3.7 percent.
Employment in the for-hire trucking industry totaled 1.519 million in June — a gain of 36,800 jobs from the same month last year.
The transportation and warehousing sector as a whole in June added 23,900 jobs, according to the DOL, while major freight producing sectors like manufacturing and construction added 17,000 jobs and 21,000 jobs, respectively.
