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Keeping America Moving: Employment in Transportation and Warehousing Industries

Image showing transportation and warehousing
July 2024
Keeping America Moving: Employment in transportation and warehousing industries

Mary Dorinda Allard and Kennedy Keller

In June 2024, the transportation and warehousing industry had an employment level of 6.6 million, accounting for 5 percent of all private-sector jobs.

Transportation and warehousing encompasses a wide variety of industries, such as warehousing and storage, truck and air transportation, and school and city buses. This Spotlight examines these industries' differing employment trends, worker characteristics, earnings, fatal and nonfatal occupational injuries, and projected 2032 employment.

Three industries accounted for 2 of 3 transportation and warehousing jobs

In June 2024, the three largest components of transportation and warehousing were warehousing and storage (accounting for 27 percent of all jobs in the industry), truck transportation (24 percent), and couriers and messengers (16 percent). Support activities for transportation—such as airport operations, port and harbor operations, and motor vehicle towing—accounted for 13 percent of employment in the industry, and air transportation for 9 percent. Employment in transit and ground passenger transportation—which includes school and city buses—made up 7 percent.

Pandemic-related job loss and recovery varied

From February to April 2020—when the COVID-19 pandemic began—the steepest employment decline in transportation and warehousing was in transit and ground passenger transportation (-37.5 percent). The only industry with a job gain was couriers and messengers, reflecting growth in online sales.

Although employment in warehousing and storage is down since a recent peak in May 2022, it was 34.0 percent higher in June 2024 than in February 2020. Employment in couriers and messengers was also considerably higher in June 2024 (+27.0 percent) than prior to the pandemic. By contrast, transit and ground passenger transportation had not yet recovered the jobs lost at the onset of the pandemic.

Three in 4 transportation and warehousing workers were men

In 2023, three-quarters of transportation and warehousing workers were men, compared with just over half of workers overall. Among the largest transportation and warehousing industries, truck transportation had the highest share of men, at 88 percent. While truck transportation workers were employed in many different occupations—such as dispatchers and mechanics—the most common occupation was truck driver, an occupation in which about 9 of 10 workers were men. Among workers in other transportation and warehousing industries, the share of men ranged from 77 percent in support activities for transportation to 66 percent in warehousing and storage.

One in 3 workers in transit and ground passenger transportation were age 55 or over

In 2023, workers in couriers and messengers and in warehousing and storage were most likely to be ages 16 to 24, at 17 percent each. By contrast, those in transit and ground passenger transportation were least likely to be younger (2 percent).

Thirty-four percent of workers in transit and ground passenger transportation were age 55 or over, compared with 15 percent and 17 percent, respectively, for those in couriers and messengers and in warehousing and storage.

Almost half of air transportation workers had at least a bachelor's degree

In 2023, 46 percent of air transportation workers age 25 and over had a bachelor’s degree or higher, likely partially reflecting the fact that a bachelor’s degree is typically required to become an airline pilot. 

By contrast, 15 percent of workers had a bachelor's degree or higher in truck transportation and in warehousing and storage. These two industries employ large numbers of workers in occupations that have low educational barriers to entry, such as laborers and freight, stock, and material moving workers.

Concentration of employment (location quotient) by state, 2023 annual averages

Employment concentration varied by industry and state

In 2023, employment in air transportation was 5.5 times more concentrated in Alaska than in the United States overall. Many towns and villages in Alaska are inaccessible by road and rely on air transportation for freight and passenger transport.  

In couriers and messengers, employment was most concentrated in Kentucky and Tennessee, at 2.9 times and 2.4 times the national rate, respectively. Two states had employment concentrations in truck transportation that were more than twice the national rate (Arkansas and Nebraska). The only states with more than twice the national rate in warehousing and storage were Delaware and Nevada.

In five states, employment concentrations in transit and ground passenger transportation were over twice the national rate. In three states—Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York—this largely reflected high employment concentration in school and employee bus transportation. In Hawaii and Nevada, the high concentrations were mostly due to employment in taxi and limousine services.

Employment in support activities for transportation, at twice the national rate, was most concentrated in Louisiana. This state’s high concentration largely reflects its employment in support activities for water transportation, such as port and harbor operations and navigational services to shipping.

Since February 2020, average weekly hours increased most in air transportation

In May 2024, average weekly hours were highest for those in warehousing and storage and in truck transportation (40.3 hours each).

Average weekly hours in air transportation were 37.0 in May 2024, up by 4.6 hours since February 2020.

Hours in transit and ground passenger transportation have also trended up, increasing from a recent low of 31.8 hours in May 2021 to 34.7 hours in May 2024. This increase coincided with reports of school bus driver shortages in many states. 

Average weekly hours for couriers and messengers were 31.8 hours in May 2024, down from a recent high of 38.1 hours in March 2021.

Real average weekly earnings were highest in air transportation

In May 2024, real average weekly earnings—that is, inflation-adjusted earnings—in transportation and warehousing overall were about the same as in February 2020, indicating workers had about the same real buying power as prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Real average weekly earnings in air transportation have risen 18.6 percent since February 2020, mostly reflecting an increase in average weekly hours. Earnings in transit and ground passenger transportation have risen 14.5 percent over the same period, largely due to an increase in real average hourly earnings.

Since February 2020, real average weekly earnings have decreased most in couriers and messengers (-11.6 percent), reflecting a decline in average weekly hours.

Rate for nonfatal occupational injuries or illnesses was highest in couriers and messengers

In 2022, there were 4.8 nonfatal work-related injury and illness cases per 100 full-time equivalent workers in transportation and warehousing. This was higher than the rate of 3.0 cases for the nation overall.

Among the largest transportation and warehousing industries, the incidence rate of nonfatal work-related injuries or illnesses was highest in couriers and messengers, at 9.4 cases per 100 workers in 2022. The industry with the second-highest rate was air transportation, at 6.3 cases. The rate was lowest for support activities for transportation, at 2.4 cases. 

Fatal occupational injuries were highest in truck transportation

There were 1,053 fatal occupational injuries in transportation and warehousing in 2022. The majority of these were due to roadway incidents.

In 2022, two-thirds (704 deaths) of all work-related fatalities in transportation and warehousing were in truck transportation. Support activities for transportation accounted for another 118 deaths, half of which occurred in support activities for road transportation.

Couriers and messengers employment projected to grow the most

Employment in transportation and warehousing is projected to grow 8.6 percent over the 2022-2032 period, above the projected growth of 2.8 percent for the nation overall. Employment in couriers and messengers is projected to grow the most, with a projected gain of 17.9 percent over the decade. Warehousing and storage employment is projected to increase 13.1 percent. Projected growth in these two industries largely reflects an expected expansion of e-commerce. Employment growth is projected to be relatively flat in other transportation and warehousing industries.

More information

Mary Dorinda Allard is an Assistant Commissioner and Kennedy Keller is an Economist in the Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics. For questions about this Spotlight, please email allard.dorinda@bls.gov or keller.kennedy@bls.gov.  

Data in slides 1, 2, 3, 8 and 9 are from the Current Employment Statistics. Industries are classified according to the 2022 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).

Data in slides 4, 5, and 6 are from the Current Population Survey. Industries are classified according to the 2017 Census Industry Classification System, which is based on NAICS 2017. In transportation and warehousing, differences between NAICS 2022 and NAICS 2017 are negligible. Titles in the Census Industry Classification System sometimes differ from those in NAICS even though the definition does not. For this article, the Census Industry Classification System title “Services incidental to transportation” has been relabeled to use the NAICS title “Support activities for transportation.” Also, the two Census Industry Classification categories “Bus service and urban transit” and “taxi and limousine service” have been combined and labeled as “transit and ground passenger transportation” to align with NAICS.

Data in slide 7 are from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. Industries are classified according to NAICS 2022. Concentration of employment (also referred to as location quotients) is measured by dividing the share of total employment for an industry at the state level by the share of total employment in the industry at the national level. If the value is equal to 1, then the industry has the same share or concentration of state employment as the nation. A value greater than 1 indicates an industry with a greater share of state employment than nationwide.

Data in slide 10 are from the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses. Incidence rates represent the number of injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers and are calculated as (N/EH) x 200,000, where N = number of injuries and illnesses, EH = total hours worked by all employees during the calendar year, and 200,000 = base for 100 equivalent full-time workers (working 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year). Industries are classified according to NAICS 2017. These estimates do not include the federal government.

Data in slide 11 are from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries. These data include only fatal injuries; illness-related deaths are excluded unless precipitated by an injury event. Industries are classified according to NAICS 2017.

Projected 2032 employment data in slide 12 are from the Employment Projections program. Industries are classified according to NAICS 2022.