What’s driving school and employee bus transportation employment?

With schools back in session, let’s check out the driving forces behind employment trends in the school and employee bus transportation industry. Each June and July, as the school year comes to an end, employees in school and employee bus transportation fall off payrolls. Employment trends in August can vary from year to year, but a large employment buildup often follows in September, as school resumes. For instance, before seasonal adjustment, 23,000 and 52,000 workers fell off payrolls in June 2025 and July 2025, respectively. In September 2025, school and employee bus transportation employment increased by 70,000, largely offsetting the earlier layoffs. In 2026, 29,000 employees fell off payrolls in June, followed by another 52,000 in July.

After seasonal adjustment, employment in school and employee bus transportation declined by 95,000 between February and April 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Seasonal adjustment smooths out increases or decreases that occur around the same time each year, making it easier to see the underlying trends and other nonseasonal movements. The industry returned to its prepandemic level in November 2024 but has since wavered slightly above and below that level. Seasonally adjusted employment was 195,000 in July 2026, compared with 206,000 in July 2025. Prior to the pandemic, in February 2020, employment was 207,000.

These data are from the Current Employment Statistics program and data for July 2026 are preliminary. We also have more charts of national employment, hours, and earnings data.