Some promising news out of Washington this past week: according to statistics released by the U.S. Department of Labor on Friday, the transportation sector gained 9,500 jobs in March as the U.S. economy overall missed employment expectations.
The department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 4,744,600 jobs in transportation-related industries in March, up from 4,735,100 in February, a figure that was part of an overall increase of 126,000 jobs, which resulted in the U.S. unemployment rate staying put at 5.5%.
The transportation sector with the highest employment increase was “support activities for transportation,” which gained 8,400 jobs in March. The sector had 643,500 jobs in March, up from 635,200 in February. The biggest drop in employment in the sector took place in the trucking industry, which lost 6,800 jobs last month. The category had 1,438,800 jobs in March, down from 1,445,600 in February.
The increase in overall industry employment is seen as a positive development, despite the ongoing funding concerns pervading both federal and respective states’ houses of government.
