U.S. transportation and logistics sector adds jobs in December

The nation’s transportation and logistics sector added 1,800 jobs in December 2017, according to recent preliminary data from the U.S. Department of Labor.    United States transportation and logistics companies added 1,800 jobs for the month in December 2017, according to the latest preliminary data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
   Job gains in the sector during December were led by the support activities for transportation segment, which grew employment by 4,100 jobs from the previous month, followed by the couriers and messengers segment, which grew by 2,100 jobs, and the transit and ground passenger transportation segment, which grew by 1,000 jobs. In addition, the water transportation, air transportation, and scenic and sightseeing transportation segments grew employment by 400, 200 and 100 jobs, respectively, from the prior month.
   Those increases were offset by a 4,800-job decline in the warehousing and storage segment, a 600-job decline in the truck transportation segment, a 500-job decline in the rail transportation segment and a 200-job decline in the pipeline transportation segment.
  Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 148,000 in December from the prior month, and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1 percent, the BLS reported.