December 2023 U.S. Transportation Sector Unemployment (4.3%) Falls Below the December 2022 Level (4.5%) But Remains Above the Pre-Pandemic December 2019 Level (2.8%)

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Friday, January 5, 2024

December 2023 U.S. Transportation Sector Unemployment

The unemployment rate in the U.S. transportation sector was 4.3% (not seasonally adjusted) in December 2023 according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). These data have been updated on the Bureau of Transportation Statistics' (BTS) Unemployment in Transportation dashboard. In December 2023, the transportation sector unemployment rate fell 0.2 percentage points from 4.5% in December 2022 but was above the pre-pandemic December 2019 level of 2.8%. Unemployment in the transportation sector reached its highest level during the COVID-19 pandemic (15.7%) in May 2020 and July 2020.

Unemployment in the transportation sector was higher than overall unemployment. BLS reports that the U.S. unemployment rate, not seasonally adjusted, in December 2023 was 3.5% or 0.8 percentage points below the transportation sector rate. Seasonally adjusted, the U.S. unemployment rate in December 2023 was 3.7%.

Line chart showing transportation sector and U.S. total unemployment rate in December 2019-December 2023

Seasonally adjusted, employment in the transportation and warehousing sector fell to 6,642,200 in December 2023 — down 0.3% from the previous month and down 0.9% from December 2022. Employment in transportation and warehousing grew 15.6% in December 2023 from the pre-pandemic December 2019 level of 5,747,100. By mode (seasonally adjusted):

Air transportation rose to 561,900 in December 2023 — up 0.7% from the previous month and up 7.3% from December 2022.
Truck transportation rose to 1,586,300 in December 2023 — up 0.2% from the previous month but down 1.3% from December 2022.
Transit and ground passenger transportation rose to 440,400 in December 2023 — up 0.8% from the previous month and up 2.7% from December 2022.
Rail transportation rose to 150,500 in December 2023 — up 0.3% from the previous month and up 1.1% from December 2022.
Water transportation fell to 68,300 in December 2023 — down 0.7% from the previous month but up 4.0% from December 2022.
Pipeline transportation fell to 47,600 in December 2023 — down 0.6% from the previous month and down 0.6% from December 2022.
Warehousing and storage fell to 1,851,200 in December 2023 — down 0.3% from the previous month and down 4.3% from December 2022.

Line chart showing tranportation employment by mode in December 2019-December 2023

NOTES: December 2019 and December 2023 employment (seasonally adjusted) not shown for water (67,100 and 68,300, respectively) or pipeline (51,900 and 47,600, respectively) transportation. All-time highs (seasonally adjusted) with records beginning in 1990: air March 2001 (633,600); pipeline July 1991 (61,200); rail January 1990 (278,100); transit June 2019 (503,800); truck January 2023 (1,611,400); warehousing and storage June 2022 (1,960,300); and water October 2023 (69,600)

In addition to updating the Unemployment in Transportation and the Employment in Transportation: Total, by Mode, and Women dashboards, BTS also updated the Race and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity of Transportation Workers dashboard.

Charts updated this month by section include:

Unemployment in the Transportation and Warehousing Sector and in Transportation and Material Moving Occupations

Monthly Employment in the Transportation and Warehousing Sector, Establishment Data

Monthly Employment in the Transportation and Warehousing Sector by Race and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity, Household Data

Race and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity of Employees in the Transportation and Warehousing Sector by Month (not seasonally adjusted)

Visit Transportation Economic Trends for more topics.

The unemployment rate is the total number of unemployed persons, expressed as a percentage of the civilian labor force. The civilian labor force includes all persons aged 16 and older who are employed and unemployed; meaning they are either currently working or actively looking for work. Unemployed persons include those who actively sought a job within the last four weeks. People waiting to start a new job who have not actively sought a job in the last four weeks are not counted as employed or unemployed; they are considered to be out of the labor force.

An unemployed person's industry is the industry for the last job they held in the workforce, which may or may not reflect their current job search field or industry.

Media contact: BTSNews@dot.gov or 1-800-853-1351.