Trucking Adds 6,300 Jobs; Unemployment Rate Drops to 7.4%
Trucking added 6,300 jobs in July, as the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 7.4%, the lowest level since December 2008, the Labor Department said Friday.
The trucking jobs figure followed a 3,000 drop in June that was a smaller decline than the 3,500 originally reported, Labor figures showed.
The transportation sector, which includes trucking, added 4,600 jobs, following a 700-jobs gain in June that contrasted with the 5,100 drop first reported.
Overall, U.S. employers added 162,000 workers to payrolls, the smallest in four months. That followed a jobs gain of 188,000 in June, which was less than the 195,000 originally reported.
Economists had forecast a 185,000 gain in payrolls, Bloomberg News reported. The unemployment rate, which fell from 7.6%, was lower than economists’ forecast of a 7.5% rate.
Private payrolls rose by 161,000 following a 196,000 increase in June that was revised slightly downward.
Construction employment fell, and manufacturing jobs rose for the first time in five months, adding 6,000 positions. Retailers added 47,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate is derived from a separate survey of households than the payrolls survey.
