A weak jobs report Friday from the U.S. Labor Department added to concerns about a slowing economic recovery and lower transportation volume.

Private-sector job growth remained weak in July as employers added only 71,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.5 percent, the Labor Department said.

The report, coming atop slower growth in manufacturing and tepid July sales by chain stores, indicates slower growth in economic activity and transportation volume, especially since post-recession inventory restocking appears to have largely run its course.

Economists cite concern about jobs as a drag on consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of economic activity and is a key driver of containerized imports and truck and intermodal shipments.

The monthly report on non-farm employment showed the U.S. economy lost a net total of 131,000 jobs last month, mostly because 143,000 temporary census jobs ended.

The 71,000 net addition of private jobs in July was below the roughly 200,000 needed each month to reduce the unemployment rate. The "underemployment" rate was the same as in June, at 16.5 percent. That includes those working part time who would prefer full-time work and unemployed workers who've given up on their job hunts.

A total of 14.6 million people were looking for work in July, Labor Department data show. That's roughly double the figure in December 2007, when the recession began.

The department revised down its jobs figures for June, saying businesses hired fewer workers than previously estimated. June's private-sector job gains were lowered to 31,000 from 83,000. May's were raised slightly to show 51,000 net new jobs, up from 33,000.

Transportation and distribution employment increased by a seasonally adjusted 12,200 jobs in July and has risen 56,000 since hitting a recent low in February. But most of July's gain came from the addition of 10,600 jobs in transit and ground passenger transportation.

Trucking jobs increased by 5,900 from June while rail employment slipped by 300 net jobs, warehousing and storage jobs declined 800 and air transportation jobs decreased 1,700.

Source: JOC