Transportation sector gains 7,000 jobs in August

The transportation sector gained 7,300 jobs in August as the national unemployment rate fell to 5.1 percent, according to statistics released by the Department of Labor on Friday.

The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said there were 4,795,000 jobs in transportation in August, compared to 4,787,700 in July. 

The jump was part of a 173,000 increase in overall jobs in August that brought the nation’s unemployment rate down from 5.3 percent in July, the BLS said.

{mosads}The transportation sector with the highest employment increase was the railroad industry, which had 242,700 jobs in August, compared to 240,500 in July.

The biggest drops in employment in the sector were in water transportation and warehousing, which each lost 1,000 jobs last month. The categories had 63,500 and 772,700 jobs respectively in August, down from 64,500 and 773,700 each in July.

The airline industry gained 1,600 jobs in August, going from 449,700 in July to 451,300 last month.

Trucking companies also gained 700 jobs, going from 1,458,100 in July to 1,458,800 last month. 

The public transit industry, meanwhile, gained 1,000 jobs, going from 473,500 in July to 474,500 last month.

The full August jobs report can be read here.