U.S. transportation sector adds 14,700 jobs in December

Transportation and logistics employment grew for the third straight month in December following revised gains of 13,000 positions in October and 11,400 jobs last month, according to recent preliminary data from the U.S. Department of Labor.    United States transportation and logistics companies added another 14,700 jobs for the month in December 2016, 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 revised increases of 13,000 jobs in October and 11,400 positions in November. These gains, however, came on the heels of a 3,200-job decline in September.
   For the full year in 2016, transportation and warehousing companies added 62,000 jobs, down from a gain of 110,000 jobs in 2015.
   Job gains in the sector during December were again led by the courier and messenger segment, which grew employment by 11,700 positions, although some of this can likely be attributed to seasonal hiring for the increased parcel volumes during the peak holiday shipping season. Increases were also seen in the support activities, warehouse and storage, truck, and air sectors, up 3,800, 1,600, 1,400, and 200 jobs, respectively, from the previous month.
   Those increases were offset slightly by declines in the rail and passenger transit transportation sectors, down 200 and 4,700 jobs, respectively, for the month. Water and pipeline employment was flat in December compared with the same 2015 period.
   Overall, the U.S. added 156,000 jobs in December, which could be another positive indicator for the U.S. economy after a “third” preliminary estimate from the Department of Commerce late last month showed gross domestic product – the broadest measure of an individual economy – rose 3.5 percent during third quarter 2016, up from a revised 0.8 percent advance in the first quarter and 1.4 percent growth in the second quarter.