By Elaine Chen

Logistics operators hired at a brisk pace in June as companies serving the e-commerce market brought on more than 80,000 workers and factories started resuming production following coronavirus-triggered shutdowns.

Trucking companies also added 8,100 jobs from May to June, the biggest one-month gain in the sector since September 2018, according to seasonally adjusted preliminary employment figures the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released Thursday.

Employment in trucking has been gradually increasing after companies slashed jobs in March and April, when lockdowns aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus led to a collapse of economic activity. Trucking companies, largely focused on industrial shipments, have added more than 10,000 jobs since then, but payrolls in the sector are still down about 95,000 from a year ago.

The broader U.S. economy gained 4.8 million jobs in June, with the jobless rate falling from 13.3% in May to 11.1%, but still has fewer jobs than in February, before the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S.

Warehousing and storage companies added 60,500 jobs last month, adding to a hiring surge that has come as consumers stuck in their homes order more goods online, triggering an upheaval in retail supply chains. The more recent hiring may have been boosted by resurgent factory activity that is pushing out more industrial goods.

"A good bit of that is due to your manufacturing reopening, businesses reopening and just the need for inventory replenishment to get these companies back up and rolling," said Cathy Roberson, president of Logistics Trends & Insights LLC, a research firm.

Courier and messenger companies added 21,100 jobs in June, following a similar increase of 22,500 jobs in May. Employment in the sector has been growing ahead of pre-pandemic levels.

Delivery giant FedEx Corp. said in its earnings release Tuesday that 72% of its U.S. shipments went to residences in its most recent quarter, compared with 56% a year ago. Average daily shipping volume at the FedEx Ground unit, which is more exposed to e-commerce shipments, rose 25% from the same time last year, the company said.

Parcel carriers should "continue to see the jobs increase," Ms. Roberson said, since many people still don't feel comfortable going into stores and so will shop online.

Write to Elaine Chen at elaine.chen@wsj.com