Coal in the Stocking: Truck Transportation Jobs Up Just Slightly in December

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The monthly employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is horrendous news for an industry seeking to put drivers behind the wheel.

Truck transportation jobs rose by just 300 workers on a seasonally adjusted basis in December, according to the BLS, which released its monthly report Friday morning. This is after the industry has been posting gains mostly in the range of 5,000 to 8,000 new jobs per month for the last six months.

The bad news for the industry was even starker in the figure for not seasonally adjusted jobs. While economists generally look at seasonally adjusted figures as the key number, not seasonally adjusted numbers are a barometer as well. And there the picture was even more shocking: Not seasonally adjusted truck transportation jobs in December dropped by 10,000.

One revision that went in the upward direction was the revised figure for November's jobs, both seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted. The latest figure for November is 1,523,000 jobs; it was reported 1,700 jobs less than that in last month's report.

The November not seasonally adjusted jobs also were higher, rising 2,900 jobs to 1,533,200 jobs. 

Warehousing and storage continued their steady climb. That sector added 5,000 new jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis, rising to 1,508,500 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis. But on a not seasonally adjusted basis, the increase was less, climbing from 3,800 jobs to 1,551,100 jobs. 

FreightWaves will continue to report on this story throughout the day.

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