Freight Facts and Figures 2009

Table 4-3. Employment in For-Hire Transportation Establishments Primarily Serving Freight: 1980-2008¹

Employment in many transportation industries has remained steady or has grown over the past two decades with the notable exception of railroads, which has declined by 56 percent between 1980 and 2008. Consequently, in 2008 rail transportation employed only 5 percent of those working in the transportation and warehousing industry compared with 18 percent in 1980. By comparison, employment in trucking in 2008 accounted for about 31 percent employment in transportation and warehousing.

Table in Excel format | Historical data

Thousands of employees

	1980	1990	2000	2007	2008
Total U.S. labor force2	90,528	109,487	131,785	(R) 137,598	137,066
Transportation and warehousing	2,961	3,476	4,410	(R) 4,541	4,505
Rail transportation	518	272	232	234	230
Water transportation	NA	57	56	(R) 66	65
Truck transportation	NA	1,122	1,406	(R) 1,439	1,391
Pipeline transportation	NA	60	46	40	42
Support activities for transportation3	NA	364	537	(R) 584	590
Couriers and messengers	NA	375	605	(R) 581	576
Warehousing and storage	NA	407	514	(R) 665	673

Key: NA = not available; R = revised.

¹Annual averages.

²Excludes farm employment.

³Industries in the support activities for transportation subsector provide services which support transportation. These services may be provided to transportation carrier establishments or to the general public. This subsector includes a wide array of establishments, including air traffic control services, marine cargo handling, and motor vehicle towing.

Notes:

These data include workers employed in transportation industries but not necessarily in a transportation occupation, such as a lawyer working for a trucking company. Moreover, these data exclude workers in transportation occupations employed by non-transportation industries, such as a truck driver employed by a retail company.

Source:

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, available at www.bls.gov/ces as of June 11, 2009.

 

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