The unemployment rate in the U.S. transportation sector was 3.6% (not seasonally adjusted) in April 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). These data have been updated on the Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ (BTS) Unemployment in Transportation dashboard. In April 2025, the transportation sector unemployment rate fell 1.1 percentage points from 4.7% in April 2024 and was just below the pre-pandemic April 2019 level of 3.7%. Unemployment in the transportation sector reached its highest level during the COVID-19 pandemic (15.7%) in May 2020 and July 2020.

Unemployment in the transportation sector was lower than overall unemployment. BLS reports that the U.S. unemployment rate, not seasonally adjusted, in April 2025 was 3.9% or 0.3 percentage points above the transportation sector rate. Seasonally adjusted, the U.S. unemployment rate in April 2025 was 4.2%.

Seasonally adjusted, employment in the transportation and warehousing sector rose to 6,794,500 in April 2025 — up 0.4% from the previous month and up 2.3% from April 2024. Employment in transportation and warehousing grew 21.0% in April 2025 from the pre-pandemic April 2019 level of 5,617,200. By mode (seasonally adjusted):

• Air transportation rose to 578,100 in April 2025 — up 0.5% from the previous month and up 2.6% from April 2024.
• Truck transportation rose to 1,524,500 in April 2025 — up 0.1% from the previous month but down 0.3% from April 2024.
• Transit and ground passenger transportation rose to 489,900 in April 2025 — up 0.4% from the previous month and up 4.7% from April 2024.
• Rail transportation rose to 153,800 in April 2025 — up 0.1% from the previous month but down 2.6% from April 2024.
• Water transportation fell to 69,600 in April 2025 — down 0.4% from the previous month and down 1.1% from April 2024.
• Pipeline transportation rose to 59,800 in April 2025 — up 1.4% from the previous month and up 9.3% from April 2024.
• Warehousing and storage rose to 1,853,400 in April 2025 — up 0.5% from the previous month and up 0.2% from April 2024.

 NOTES: April 2019 and April 2025 employment (seasonally adjusted) not shown for water (65,900 and 69,600, respectively) or pipeline (51,000 and 59,800, respectively) transportation. All-time highs (seasonally adjusted) with records beginning in 1990: air March 2001 (633,600); pipeline July 1991 (61,200); rail January 1990 (278,100); transit June 2019 (503,900); truck July 2022 (1,587,900); warehousing and storage March 2022 (1,943,100); and water June 2024 (71,400)

Charts updated this month by section include:

Unemployment in the Transportation and Warehousing Sector and in Transportation and Material Moving Occupations

• Total Unemployment in Transportation

Monthly Employment in the Transportation and Warehousing Sector, Establishment Data

• Monthly Employment in the Transportation and Warehousing Sector
• Monthly Employment in the Transportation and Warehousing Sector by Mode

Visit Transportation Economic Trends for more topics.

The unemployment rate is the total number of unemployed persons, expressed as a percentage of the civilian labor force. The civilian labor force includes all persons aged 16 and older who are employed and unemployed; meaning they are either currently working or actively looking for work. Unemployed persons include those who actively sought a job within the last four weeks. People waiting to start a new job who have not actively sought a job in the last four weeks are not counted as employed or unemployed; they are considered to be out of the labor force. 

An unemployed person’s industry is the industry for the last job they held in the workforce, which may or may not reflect their current job search field or industry.

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