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The rail transportation subsector is part of the transportation and warehousing sector.
Industries in the Rail Transportation subsector provide rail transportation of passengers and/or cargo using railroad rolling stock. The railroads in this subsector primarily either operate on networks, with physical facilities, labor force, and equipment spread over an extensive geographic area, or operate over a short distance on a local rail line.
North American Industry Classification System
The rail transportation subsector consists of a single industry group, Rail Transportation: NAICS 4821.
This section provides information relating to employment in rail transportation. These data are obtained from employer or establishment surveys. The following tables present an overview of the industry including the number of jobs, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.
Data series | Back data |
Jun. 2024 |
Jul. 2024 |
Aug. 2024 |
Sep. 2024 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Employment (in thousands) |
|||||
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted) |
151.9 | 150.9 | (p)150.3 | (p)150.1 | |
Footnotes |
(Source: Current Employment Statistics)
Data series | Employment, 2023 |
---|---|
31,040 | |
9,320 | |
9,280 | |
11,640 | |
36,400 |
(Source: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics)
For projected (future) employment estimates, see the National Employment Matrix, which includes employment estimates by industry and occupation for rail transportation.
(Source: Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections)
Recent hourly and annual earnings for occupations commonly found in rail transportation.
Data series | Wages, 2023 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Hourly | Annual | |||
Median | Mean | Median | Mean | |
35.95 | 36.76 | 74,770 | 76,470 | |
34.45 | 33.11 | 71,660 | 68,870 | |
31.78 | 31.53 | 66,100 | 65,590 | |
30.69 | 30.39 | 63,840 | 63,210 | |
32.42 | 35.20 | 67,430 | 73,220 |
(Source: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics)
This section presents data for the industry on the number of workplace fatalities and the rates of workplace injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers in rail transportation. An injury or illness is considered to be work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing condition.
Data series | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Fatalities |
||||
11 | 13 | 8 | ||
Blank cells indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. |
Data series | 2022 |
---|---|
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers |
|
2.1 | |
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer |
1.5 |
1.4 | |
0.1 | |
Blank cells indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. |
(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)
This section provides industry-specific pricing information. The producer price index measures the percentage change in prices that domestic producers receive for goods and services. The prices included in the producer price index are from the first commercial transaction.
Data series | Back data |
Jun. 2024 |
Jul. 2024 |
Aug. 2024 |
Sep. 2024 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
(p)235.823 | (p)237.160 | (p)236.999 | (p)237.694 | ||
Percent change from previous month |
(p)0.0% | (p)0.6% | (p)-0.1% | (p)0.3% | |
Footnotes |
(Source: Producer Price Indexes)
This section presents data on the number of establishments in rail transportation.
Data series | Back data |
2nd quarter 2023 |
3rd quarter 2023 |
4th quarter 2023 |
1st quarter 2024 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of establishments |
|||||
158 | 163 | 170 | (p)174 | ||
2 | 2 | 2 | (p)2 | ||
Footnotes |
(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)
This section presents productivity and related data for the industry, presented as the percent change from the previous year. Measures of total factor productivity (TFP) compare growth in output to the growth in a combination of inputs that include labor, capital, energy, materials, and services. Measures of labor productivity, or output per hour, compare the growth in output to the growth in hours worked.
Data series | Back data |
2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
-3.0 | -2.7 | 5.7 | 2.3 | ||
-4.8 | -13.0 | 7.9 | 3.8 | ||
-1.9 | -10.6 | 2.0 | 1.4 | ||
0.0 | 0.0 | -0.1 | 0.4 | ||
-2.5 | -13.9 | -4.2 | 2.4 | ||
-2.2 | 2.1 | 12.2 | 1.2 |
(Source: Productivity)
Data extracted on: October 11, 2024