Freight Facts and Figures 2013
Table 4-4. Employment in For-Hire Transportation Establishments Primarily Serving Freight: 1980, 1990, 2000-20121 (Historical)
Thousands of employees
 |
1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total U.S. labor force2 | 90,528 | 109,487 | 131,785 | 131,826 | 130,341 | 129,999 | 131,435 | 133,703 | 136,086 | 137598 | 136,790 | 130,807 | 130,346 | 132,186 | 134,691 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 2,961 | 3,476 | 4,410 | 4,372 | 4,224 | 4,185 | 4,249 | 4,361 | 4,470 | 4541 | 4,508 | 4,236 | 4,235 | 4,322 | 4,494 |
| Rail transportation | 518 | 272 | 232 | 227 | 218 | 218 | 226 | 228 | 228 | 234 | 231 | 218 | 223 | 232 | 230 |
| Water transportation | NA | 57 | 56 | 54 | 53 | 55 | 56 | 61 | 63 | 66 | 67 | 63 | 63 | 63 | 63 |
| Truck transportation | NA | 1,122 | 1,406 | 1,387 | 1,339 | 1,326 | 1,352 | 1,398 | 1,436 | 1439 | 1,389 | 1,268 | 1,271 | 1,318 | 1,371 |
| Air transportation3 | NA | 541 | 628 | 560 | 565 | 517 | 512 | 485 | 492 | 500 | 473 | 460 | 454 | 456 | 451 |
| Pipeline transportation | NA | 60 | 46 | 45 | 42 | 40 | 38 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 42 | 43 | 42 | 43 | 44 |
| Support activities for transportation4 | NA | 364 | 537 | 539 | 525 | 520 | 535 | 552 | 571 | 584 | 592 | 549 | 548 | 574 | 589 |
| Couriers and messengers | NA | 375 | 605 | 587 | 561 | 562 | 557 | 572 | 582 | 581 | 573 | 546 | 527 | 522 | 560 |
| Warehousing and storage | NA | 407 | 514 | 514 | 517 | 528 | 558 | 595 | 638 | 665 | 672 | 637 | 643 | 650 | 696 |
Key: NA = not available.
1Annual averages.
2Excludes farm employment.
3Data for air transportation includes passenger and freight transportation employment.
4Industries in the support activities for transportation subsector provide services to transportation carrier establishments or to the general public. This subsector includes a wide array of establishments, including air traffic control services, marine cargo handling, and motor vehicle towing.
Notes:
These data include workers employed in transportation industries but not necessarily in a transportation occupation, such as a lawyer working for a trucking company. Moreover, these data exclude workers in transportation occupations employed by non-transportation industries, such as a truck driver employed by a retail company.
Source:
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, available at www.bls.gov/ces as of October 2, 2013.
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