Unemployment Rate Rises to 9.6%; Trucking Jobs Hold Steady
The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 9.6% in August from July’s 9.5%, with trucking jobs taking a slight upturn, the Labor Department said Friday.
Trucking employment rose by 400 jobs, holding at about 1.24 million, according to Labor figures.
Overall transportation and warehousing employment slipped by 7,400 to 4.18 million, while manufacturing lost 27,000 jobs for the month.
Private payrolls rose by 67,000 — more than the 40,000 increase that was forecast by economists, Bloomberg reported.
That followed a revised 107,000 increase in private employment in July that was greater than initially reported.
Overall payroll numbers including government employment fell by 54,000 for the second straight month, less than the 105,000 job-drop forecast.
Government payrolls fell by 121,000, led by a 111,000 drop in federal government jobs. State and local governments accounted for the other 10,000.
