Package-delivery firms are shoring up their staffing in big numbers as they prepare for a holiday season likely to see another surge in online sales.
Courier and messenger companies added 3,900 jobs in August, the fifth straight monthly increase, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its monthly jobs report released Friday. The parcel sector, which is bulking up as demand to deliver goods to consumers’ homes grows, has added 7,000 jobs over the past two months and more than 30,000 since August 2016.
The warehousing and storage sector added 900 jobs in August, as fulfillment centers that process online orders ramped up recruiting in a tight labor market.
The growth in transportation related to e-commerce came as the overall pace of hiring slowed in August, with U.S. employers adding 156,000 jobs from the previous month, below economists’ expectations.
The national jobs figures showed strength in industrial sectors that feed shipping demand, however. Manufacturing payrolls grew by 36,000, boosted by gains in the automotive sector, and construction employment rose by 28,000.
This story was written by Jennifer Smith of the WSJ.
