Transportation sector loses 3,600 jobs

The transportation sector lost 3,600 jobs in February as the national unemployment rate ticked up to 6.7 percent, according to statistics released by the Department of Labor on Friday.

The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said there were 4,560,200 jobs in transportation in February, compared to 4,563,800 in January.

The drop occurred despite a 175,000 increase in overall jobs in February, the BLS said.

{mosads}The transportation sector with the highest employment increase was “warehouse and storage,” which had 729,100 jobs in February, compared to 723,600 in January.

The biggest drop in employment in the transportation sector was “couriers and messengers,” which lost 11,900 jobs last month. The category had 559,600 jobs in February, which was down from 571,500 in January.

The airline industry lost 300 jobs in February, going from 453,300 in January to 453,000 last month.

Rail companies lost 900 jobs, going from 232,600 in January to 233,500 last month.

The full February jobs report can be read here.