Trucking Industry Records Job Uptick

Truck drivers work hard for their money, so encouraging economic news about the trucking industry may put some of their employment concerns to rest, at least for now.

Payroll employment in trucking over the summer months totaled 1.352 million jobs — up 0.1% over July and 3.8% over August 2011. Trucking employment is up by 117,000 jobs, or 9.5%, from the lowest performing month – March 2010. The number of trucking jobs are up 2.5% since the beginning of this year. Trucking added 1,400 jobs and the transportation sector rose with another 5,700 new jobs, Labor figures showed.

U.S. employers added 96,000 jobs in August and the unemployment rate fell to 8.1%,  despite predictions from analysts that the number would hold steady for a second month at 8.3%, the Labor Department said Friday.

The 96,000 nonfarm payrolls gain followed a 141,000 increase in July that was smaller than the 163,000 originally reported.

Revisions to the two previous months showed a decline by 41,000 jobs, but trucking’s July employment increase was revised upward to 5,500, from an originally reported 3,100.