Transportation sector gains 15K jobs in April

The transportation sector gained 15,200 jobs in April as the national unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in seven years, according to statistics released by the Department of Labor on Friday.

The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said there were 4,758,100 jobs in transportation in April, compared to 4,742,900 in March. 

The jump was part of a 223,000 increase in overall jobs in April that brought the nation’s unemployment rate down to 5.4 percent, the BLS said.

{mosads}The transportation sector with the highest employment increase was “support activities for transportation,” which had 648,200 jobs in April, compared to 643,400 in March.

The biggest drop in employment in the sector was “transit and ground passenger transportation,” which lost 400 jobs last month. The category had 470,900 jobs in April, down from 471,300 in March.

The airline industry gained 1,700 jobs in April, going from 443,600 in March to 445,300 last month.

Long-distance rail companies gained 700 jobs, going from 244,900 in March to 245,600 last month. 

The trucking industry, meanwhile, gained 1,900 jobs, going from 1,438,300 in March to 1,440,200 last month.

The full April jobs report can be read here.