Trucking Jobs Slip by 900; August Unemployment Rate Holds at 9.1%

The U.S. unemployment rate held at 9.1% in August, while payrolls also remained unchanged, the Labor Department said Friday.

Trucking jobs declined by 900 workers, while the total transportation and warehousing sector lost 2,400 workers, Labor figures showed.

The unemployment rate was in line with economists’ projections, Bloomberg reported.

The unchanged payrolls figure followed a revised 85,000 increase in July that was less than originally reported.

The payroll and unemployment figures are obtained by separate surveys, with payrolls from a survey of employers and the unemployment rate from a survey of households.

Economists had forecast 65,000 new jobs for August, Bloomberg said.

Private hiring edged up by 17,000, below projections of 95,000 new jobs. Government payrolls decreased by 17,000, the 10th straight decline.

Factory employment dropped by 3,000 after a 36,000 increase last month. Service employment rose by 3,000 jobs.