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

U.S. Transportation Sector Unemployment Rate Falls to 5.1% in October 2021, Remains Above Pre-Pandemic October 2019’s 2.7%

Monday, November 8, 2021

The unemployment rate in the U.S. transportation sector was 5.1 percent (not seasonally adjusted) in October 2021 according to recently updated Bureau of Labor Statistics data on the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) Unemployment in Transportation dashboard. The October 2021 rate was down 3.8 percentage points from October 2020’s 8.9 percent but remains 2.4 percentage points above the 2.7 percent rate in pre-pandemic October 2019. To date, the transportation unemployment rate peak during the COVID-19 pandemic is 15.7 percent set in both May and July 2020.

 

The overall U.S. unemployment rate in October was 4.6 percent (seasonally adjusted), down 2.3 percentage points from October 2020’s 6.9 percent but 1 percentage point above the pre-pandemic October 2019 overall rate of 3.6 percent. The overall U.S. unemployment rate during the pandemic peaked at 14.8 percent in April 2020.

 

 

In addition to the update of the Unemployment in Transportation dashboard, BTS also released its monthly update to its Employment in Transportation: Total, by Mode, and Women, and Race and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity of Transportation Workers dashboards.

Charts Updated this Month by Section include:

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

Monthly Employment in the Transportation and Warehousing Sector, Establishment Data

Monthly Employment in the Transportation and Warehousing Sector by Race and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity, Household Data

 

Visit Transportation Economic Trends for more topics.

 

Contact: Todd Solomon (202) 366-0573, todd.solomon@dot.gov.