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The unemployment rate in the U.S. transportation sector was 3.6% in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
In April, the transportation sector unemployment rate fell 1.1 percentage points from 4.7% in April 2024 and was just below the pre-pandemic April 2019 level of 3.7%. 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 lower than overall unemployment. BLS reports that the U.S. unemployment rate in April was 3.9% or 0.3 percentage points above the transportation sector rate. Seasonally adjusted, the U.S. unemployment rate in April was 4.2%.
Key takeaways:
- Air transportation rose to 578,100 in April, up 0.5% from the previous month and up 2.6% from April 2024.
- Truck transportation rose to 1,524,500 in April 2025, up 0.1% from the previous month but down 0.3% from April 2024.
- Rail transportation rose to 153,800 in April 2025, up 0.1% from the previous month but down 2.6% from April 2024.
- Warehousing and storage rose to 1,853,400 in April 2025, up 0.5% from the previous month and up 0.2% from April 2024.
