U.S. transportation and logistics job growth accelerates in February

Transportation and logistics companies added 15,400 jobs for the month following a revised 11,800-job gain in January, according to recent preliminary data from the U.S. Department of Labor.    U.S. transportation and logistics companies added another 15,400 jobs in February 2018, accelerating the growth seen the previous two months, according to the latest preliminary data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
   The February growth figures followed revised gains of 11,800 jobs in January and 8,700 positions December 2017.
   Job gains in the sector during February were led by the truck transportation segment, which added 5,600 positions from the previous month, followed by the transit and ground passenger transportation segment, which grew by 3,400 jobs, and the support activities for transportation segment, which was up 3,300 positions. In addition, the air, water, pipeline, courier and messenger, and warehousing and storage segments all added jobs during the month, up 1,600, 100, 300, 800 and 400 positions, respectively.
   In fact, the only major sector tracked by BLS that showed a decline in employment for the month was rail transportation, which shed 400 jobs, according to bureau data.
   Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 313,000 in February compared with the previous month, and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1 percent, according to BLS.