Rise in freight traffic creates hiring boom at railroads

[mahatmakanejeeves]

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Region's railroads have job openings

Representatives for both Norfolk Southern and for a CSX union say increased traffic has spurred hiring.
By Duncan Adams
981-3324

Norfolk Southern Corp. might want you.

If you qualify.

The railroad company had 51 openings in Roanoke for hourly jobs as of Friday, and was seeking conductors, machinists, boilermakers, pipe fitters and more. These union jobs typically pay a higher wage than many other hourly positions in the region.

The hiring reflects increases in freight traffic and "a strengthening in the economy," said Robin Chapman, a spokesman for Norfolk-based Norfolk Southern. He said no hourly workers remain on furlough in Roanoke, whose historical course has traveled steel rails.

Other railroads, including CSX, are hiring too.

That trend bucks Friday's sobering news from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which reported that the nation lost 131,000 jobs in July and that the jobless rate, at 9.5 percent, was the same as June's.

The bureau's report also showed that the transportation and warehousing sector added 12,000 jobs last month.

For the week ending July 31, railroads in the United States reported the highest traffic levels for the year in both carload and intermodal traffic, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday.
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Chapman said Norfolk Southern has been "aggressively hiring" for months as freight traffic has increased.
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AAR SmartBrief

[Recursion]

1. Roanoke's a great town

Beautiful view, cool minor league baseball team, a few hours' drive to DC if you need to party for the weekend.