Trucking employment continues to grow: A look at latest gov’t numbers

user-gravatar Headshot
Screen Shot 2015-03-06 at 8.01.11 AM


The for-hire trucking industry’s total employment grew by 2,600 payroll jobs in February, according to preliminary data released March 6 by the Department of Labor.

The DOL also upwardly revised trucking’s January employment total by 600 jobs.

The U.S. economy as a whole, meanwhile, added 295,000 jobs in the month, pushing the country’s unemployment rate to a multi-year low of 5.5 percent.

For-hire trucking employment now totals 1.4462 million on a seasonally adjusted basis — a 3.6 percent increase (50,900 jobs) from February 2014.

It’s also up 17.3 percent (213,000 jobs) from its most recent bottom in March 2010.

And total for-hire trucking employment could be months away from an 8-year high, as it is just 7,200 jobs shy of January 2007’s most recent peak.

For-hire trucking employment remains, however, half a percent (7,200 jobs) below January.

Employment in the broader transportation and warehousing sector grew by 18,500 jobs in the month, while manufacturing added 8,000 jobs and construction added 29,000 jobs.

The Business Manual for Owner-Operators
Overdrive editors and ATBS present the industry’s best manual for prospective and committed owner-operators. You’ll find exceptional depth on many issues in the 2022 edition of Partners in Business.
Download
Partners in Business Issue Cover