The unemployment rate in the U.S. transportation sector was 5.0% (not seasonally adjusted) in March 2023 according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data recently updated on the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) Unemployment in Transportation dashboard. The March 2023 rate fell 0.1 percentage points from 5.1% in March 2022 and was below the March 2020 level of 5.4%. 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 above overall unemployment. BLS reports that the U.S. unemployment rate, not seasonally adjusted, in March 2023 was 3.6% or 1.4 percentage points below the transportation sector rate. Seasonally adjusted, the U.S. unemployment rate in March 2023 was 3.5%.
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
Total Unemployment in Transportation
Unemployed Men and Women Workers 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
Women Workers in the Transportation and Warehousing Sector
Monthly Employment in the Transportation and Warehousing Sector by Race and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity, Household Data
Race and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity of Employees in the Transportation and Warehousing Sector by Month (not seasonally adjusted)
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; in other words, either working or actively looking for work. Unemployed persons count only those who have 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.
