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The unemployment rate in the U.S. transportation sector was 4.8% (not seasonally adjusted) in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and rose 0.3 percentage points from 4.5% in November 2023 and above the pre-pandemic November 2019 level of 3.3%.
“Unemployment in the transportation sector was higher than overall unemployment. BLS reports that the U.S. unemployment rate, not seasonally adjusted, in November 2024 was 4.0% or 0.8 percentage points below the transportation sector rate. Seasonally adjusted, the U.S. unemployment rate in November 2024 was 4.2%,” according to BLS.
Key takeaways:
- Unemployment in the transportation sector reached its highest level during the COVID-19 pandemic (15.7%) in May 2020 and July 2020.
- Air transportation rose to 574,800 in November, up 0.1% from the previous month and up 1.6% from November 2023.
- Truck transportation rose to 1,548,700 in November, up 0.2% from the previous month but down 0.1% from November 2023.
- Rail transportation remained virtually unchanged in November at 150,000 from the previous month but down 1.8% from November 2023.
- Water transportation fell to 73,600 in November, down 0.5% from the previous month but up 3.7% from November 2023.
- Warehousing and storage fell to 1,772,200 in November, down 0.1% from the previous month but remained unchanged from November 2023.
