trucking Drivers employment

A Look at December’s Transportation Employment Trends

Avery Vise | January 16, 2025

3:05

Last week’s monthly employment report offered a fresh perspective on the state of payroll employment in trucking and related industries. While some sectors showed gains, others continued to face challenges, painting a nuanced picture of the transportation job market as we head into 2025.

Trucking Employment: A Mixed Picture

For-hire trucking employment levels have remained relatively stable over the past five months. In December, the sector shed just 800 payroll jobs, seasonally adjusted, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This slight decline followed downward revisions of October and November estimates by a net of 2,000 jobs.

Since August, the net gain has been just 900 jobs, a stark contrast to the period between April and July, when trucking lost 11,400 jobs.

Breaking the data down further (as of November):

Growth Areas: Gains were seen in general freight truckload and local specialized trucking.
Declines: Long-distance specialized trucking and less-than-truckload (LTL) segments faced job losses.
- LTL employment fell 0.7% in November and was down 2.4% year-over-year (y/y). With an estimated 235,500 jobs, LTL employment hovers near its lowest levels since mid-2014.

Looking ahead, the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) indicates that BLS may revise its trucking job estimates downward during its annual benchmark revision. Preliminary QCEW data suggests that, as of June, trucking jobs were overestimated by 41,000 positions, with general freight truckload accounting for more than half of this discrepancy.

Broader Transportation Job Trends

Employment trends in related industries offered some positive notes:

Freight Brokerage: Payrolls in freight transportation arrangement fell for the third consecutive month in November. However, employment was up 0.1% y/y, marking the first positive comparison since July 2023.
Parcel and Local Delivery: Couriers and messengers added 2,400 jobs in December. Though modest, this represents a 4.4% y/y increase—the strongest growth since June 2022.
Warehousing and Storage: This sector added 2,100 jobs in December, though October and November figures were revised downward by 4,000 jobs. Employment was up 0.2% y/y, marking the first positive annual comparison since December 2022.

What’s Next?

While transportation-related employment trends reveal a mix of gains and challenges, the stability in certain segments and growth in areas like parcel delivery and warehousing offer optimism. As we approach the release of BLS’s annual benchmark revisions, adjustments to trucking job estimates may provide a clearer view of the sector’s health.

Stay tuned for further analysis on national payroll trends and their implications for the transportation industry.