The number of trucking jobs went down in September, according to payroll data released Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor, as the trucker shortage continues.
The truck transportation sector had approximately 1,580,800 employees in September, compared to 1,592,200 the prior month, according to seasonally adjusted data from the Labor Department. There was a loss of 11,400 jobs in the sector month-over-month.
"DOL reported today that for-hire trucking shed 11,400 jobs in Sept. Excluding Apr'2020, that was the largest decrease since Apr'09," Bob Costello, the chief economist for the American Trucking Associations, tweeted. "It suggests that small fleets are folding and/or fleets are right sizing, but it should ease overcapacity fears, which I don't subscribe to."
The Labor Department said that transportation and warehousing employment was "little changed" in September, shedding approximately 7,900 jobs. The loss of jobs in trucking was "partially offset" by air transportation adding 3,000, according to the data.
Overall, 263,000 U.S. jobs were added by employers in September, marking the second month in a row of job growth slowing. The unemployment rate went down to 3.5%, the Labor Department also reported.
The loss of jobs in truck transportation in September comes amid an ongoing trucker shortage that began well before the pandemic. In early September, American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear noted in a letter that there was an "existing shortage" of 80,000 drivers.
FOX Business has reached out to the American Trucking Associations for comment.
This article originally appeared in Fox Business
Photo: AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes / AP Newsroom
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