Indicators: For-hire trucking employment dips for fifth straight month

CCJ‘s Indicators rounds up the latest reports on trucking business indicators on rates, freight, equipment, the economy and more.

The for-hire trucking industry’s total employment fell by 6,300 jobs in the month of June, according to preliminary figures reported July 8 by the Department of Labor’s monthly Employment Situation Report.

June’s drop was the fifth straight month the industry’s employment has fallen. January is the only month to see an employment uptick in the for-hire industry this year.

Trucking’s drop bucked the overall trend of the U.S. economy, which saw employment jump by nearly 300,000 jobs, pushing the country’s unemployment rate to 4.9 percent.

For-hire trucking employment in the month totaled 1.453 million, according to the DOL’s figures.

The broader transportation and warehousing sector dropped 9,400 jobs in the month, per the DOL report. Manufacturing added 14,000, and construction industry employment was flat. Retailers added just shy of 30,000 workers in the month.