Trucking Payrolls Steady as Unemployment Rate Holds at 9.6%

The September U.S. unemployment rate held at 9.6%, while payrolls fell by 95,000 jobs, the Labor Department said Friday.

Trucking jobs were unchanged, dipping by 100. Transportation and warehousing employment rose by 9,600, led by gains in transit, couriers and messengers, and warehousing and storage employees.

Private-sector employment rose by 64,000, Labor said, and most of the overall job declines were due to cuts in federal Census workers, and by state and local governments.

The 95,000 jobs cut followed a revised 57,000 decline in August that had originally been reported as a 27,000 decline.

Economists had forecast a slight increase in the unemployment rate and a 5,000 drop in overall employment, Bloomberg reported.