Post by HardTimeTrucker on Feb 7, 2010 21:10:25 GMT -5
Airline, Trucking Employment Rise
John D. Boyd
Feb 5, 2010 4
The Journal of Commerce
Rail, marine, warehouse jobs decline in January
U.S. transportation industry employment was mixed in January, the Labor Department reported, as airlines added workers and trucking contracted less than normal for the month, but railroads and marine jobs continued to decline.
The trucking industry had 1.203 million workers actually on payrolls in last month’s, Labor said, down from 1.234 million in December. However, when adjusted for normal winter season employment levels, and the fact that trucking jobs usually contract in January, Labor said the industry’s employment actually grew 2.5 percent.
Air transportation, which includes freight-only and passenger airlines, saw employment in the raw data rise mildly to 452,200 from December’s 451,800.
Railroad jobs -- mainly on major freight rail lines but including short line and inter-city passenger systems -- fell to an unadjusted 211,800 in January from 212,200 the month before. That continues a pattern in which freight railroads have been trimming their workforce despite a mild recovery in traffic levels, although union sources say passenger line workers have fared better.
Labor said the raw employment level in water transportation slid to 61,600 in January from 63,300. That group includes ships, barge lines, ferries and some other groups but not sightseeing transportation.
The warehousing sector, closely tied to freight demand, saw jobs shrink last month to 632,400 from December’s 643,900. Although January is often a weak month for the sector after the big Christmas sales period, Labor said the seasonally adjusted level also fell 0.4 percent.
Contact John Boyd at jboyd@joc.com.
John D. Boyd
Feb 5, 2010 4
The Journal of Commerce
Rail, marine, warehouse jobs decline in January
U.S. transportation industry employment was mixed in January, the Labor Department reported, as airlines added workers and trucking contracted less than normal for the month, but railroads and marine jobs continued to decline.
The trucking industry had 1.203 million workers actually on payrolls in last month’s, Labor said, down from 1.234 million in December. However, when adjusted for normal winter season employment levels, and the fact that trucking jobs usually contract in January, Labor said the industry’s employment actually grew 2.5 percent.
Air transportation, which includes freight-only and passenger airlines, saw employment in the raw data rise mildly to 452,200 from December’s 451,800.
Railroad jobs -- mainly on major freight rail lines but including short line and inter-city passenger systems -- fell to an unadjusted 211,800 in January from 212,200 the month before. That continues a pattern in which freight railroads have been trimming their workforce despite a mild recovery in traffic levels, although union sources say passenger line workers have fared better.
Labor said the raw employment level in water transportation slid to 61,600 in January from 63,300. That group includes ships, barge lines, ferries and some other groups but not sightseeing transportation.
The warehousing sector, closely tied to freight demand, saw jobs shrink last month to 632,400 from December’s 643,900. Although January is often a weak month for the sector after the big Christmas sales period, Labor said the seasonally adjusted level also fell 0.4 percent.
Contact John Boyd at jboyd@joc.com.