U.S. transportation sector adds 8,800 jobs in February

Transportation and logistics employment rebounded in February 2017 following a revised loss of 10,200 positions in January, according to recent preliminary data from the U.S. Department of Labor.    United States transportation and logistics companies added 8,800 jobs for the month in February 2017, according to the latest preliminary data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
   The increase in U.S. transportation sector hiring follows a revised decrease of 10,200 jobs in January and a revised 13,400 gain in December 2016.
   For the full year in 2016, transportation and warehousing companies added 62,000 jobs, down from a 110,000-job increase in 2015.
   Job gains in the sector during February were led by the trucking segment, which grew employment by 10,600 positions. Increases were also seen in the passenger transit sector, up 1,400 from the previous month, and the courier and air segments, up 900 and 400 jobs, respectively.
   Those increases were offset slightly by declines in the rail and water transportation sectors, down 1,100 and 700 jobs, respectively, for the month. Pipeline employment was relatively flat in February, down just 100 positions compared with the same 2016 period.
   Overall, the U.S. added 235,000 jobs in February, which could be a positive indicator for the U.S. economy after a “second” preliminary estimate from the Department of Commerce late last month showed gross domestic product – the broadest measure of an individual economy – rose just 1.9 percent during fourth quarter 2016, down from a revised 3.5 percent advance in the third quarter, but up from the 1.4 percent growth rate seen in the second quarter and 0.8 percent increase in the first quarter.