Transportation Sector Unemployment Drops

The unemployment rate in the U.S. transportation sector was 4.6 percent (not seasonally adjusted) in August 2022 according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data recently updated on the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) Unemployment in Transportation dashboard.

The August 2022 rate fell 1.8 percentage points from 6.4 percent in August 2021 and was just below the pre-pandemic August level of 4.8 percent in August 2019. Unemployment in the transportation sector reached its highest level during the Covid-19 pandemic (15.7 percent) in May 2020 and July 2020.

Unemployment in the transportation sector was above overall unemployment. BLS reports that the U.S. unemployment rate, not seasonally adjusted, in August 2022 was 3.8 percent or 0.8 percentage points below the transportation sector rate. Seasonally adjusted, the U.S. unemployment rate in August 2022 was 3.7 percent.

Source: U.S. DOT