USA Banner

Official US Government Icon

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure Site Icon

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

Table 3-20. Employment in Transportation Occupations (Thousands)

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Table 3-20. Employment in Transportation Occupations (Thousands)

Excel | CSV

  1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Total workers, 16 years and over 107,150 118,793 117,718 118,492 120,259 123,060 124,900 126,708 129,558 131,463 133,488
Total workers in transportation occupations 3,681 4,039 4101.0 4,098 4,250 4,287 4,308 4,451 4,534 4,499 4,629
Transportation occupation as % of total                      
workers, 16 years and over 3.4 3.4 3.5 3.5 R3.5 3.5 3.4 3.5 3.5 3.4 3.5
Motor vehicle operators                     
Supervisors, motor vehicle operators 51 76 80 87 84 94 87 85 95 88 86
Truck drivers 2,412 2,627 2,684 2,712 2,804 2,815 2,860 3,018 3,075 3,012 3,116
Drivers-sales workers 214 201 215 184 178 164 158 156 150 159 160
Bus drivers 394 443 469 477 506 511 526 512 472 471 490
Taxicab drivers and chauffeurs 180 213 197 217 230 238 211 203 248 273 271
Parking lot attendants 45 53 53 44 41 49 50 46 46 62 68
Motor transportation occupations, NEC 2 5 6 5 7 8 8 4 4 3 11
Total 3,298 3,618 3,704 3,726 3,850 3,879 3,900 4,024 4,090 4,069 4,202
Rail transportation                     
Railroad conductors and yardmasters 36 36 38 39 38 38 33 45 48 50 45
Locomotive operating occupations 59 46 44 44 45 47 51 49 53 41 45
Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators 46 28 27 20 21 19 17 15 14 7 9
Rail vehicle operators, NEC 7 8 6 5 4 4 3 7 6 6 7
Total 148 118 115 108 108 108 104 116 121 104 106
Water transportation                     
Ship captains and mates, except fishing boats 32 27 32 26 26 30 33 32 24 22 31
Sailors and deckhands 18 18 18 16 24 27 26 25 21 30 16
Marine engineers 1 2 4 5 3 6 3 8 2 3 5
Bridge, lock, and lighthouse tenders 8 6 7 7 8 5 4 5 5 8 5
Total 59 53 61 54 61 68 66 70 52 63 57
Air transportation                     
Airplane pilots and navigators 77 114 100 96 101 104 114 114 120 113 143
Air traffic controllers 34 36 34 23 25 24 30 32 36 26 24
Total 111 150 134 119 126 128 144 146 156 139 167
Public transportation attendants65 100 86 91 105 104 94 95 115 124 111

KEY: NEC = not elsewhere classified; R = revised.

NOTES: Beginning in January 1998, data are not comparable with data for 1997 and earlier years due to new  composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used in the household survey. See source for additional information. The employment totals in tables 3-19 and 3-20 differ. Table 3-19 shows employment in transportation and related industries;  Table 3-20 shows employment by transportation occupation. Some employees of transportation industries have nontransportation jobs  (e.g., a bookkeeper in a trucking firm), and some people in transportation occupations do not work in the transportation industry  (e.g., a truck driver for a construction firm).

SOURCES: All data except total workers, 16 years and over:
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment and Earnings (Washington, DC: Annual January issues), table 11 of the  Household Data Annual Averages Tables, Internet site http://stats.bls.gov/pdf/cpsaatab.htm, as of May 31, 2000. Ibid. Personal communications, Apr. 15, 1998, Feb. 26, 1999, and unpublished revisions, Mar. 11, 1999; Mar. 12, 1999; May 31, 2000.
Total workers, 16 years and over: Ibid. Employment and Earnings (Washington, DC: January 1999), revised totals, table 1, Internet site http://stats.bls.gov/pdf/cpsaatab.htm, as of May 31, 2000.