Trucking Adds 6,800 Jobs in April; Unemployment Rate Drops to 6.3%
Trucking accounted for 6,800 of the 288,000 jobs added in April, and the unemployment rate dropped to 6.3%, the lowest level since September 2008, the Labor Department reported May 2.
The job increase was above economists’ forecasts of 218,000, Bloomberg News reported. The increase was the largest since January 2012 and follows a revised 203,000 rise that was larger than originally reported.
The transportation and warehousing sector, which includes trucking, added 11,300 positions in April.
The gain puts payroll growth in line with the average over the past two years and shows companies are optimistic about the outlook for demand, Bloomberg reported.
“The job market is starting to click on all cylinders, the engine is not running very fast, but all cylinders are moving,” said Robert Stein, deputy chief economist at First Trust Portfolios.
Manufacturing added 12,000 jobs, following an increase of 3,800 in March. Construction companies added 32,000 workers, after about a 1,300 rise in March.
