The unemployment rate in the U.S. transportation sector was 4.3% (not seasonally adjusted) in July 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). In July 2025, the transportation sector’s unemployment rate fell 1.4 percentage points from 5.7% in July 2024, but was just above the pre-pandemic July 2019 level of 4.2%.
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 the overall unemployment rate. BLS reports that the U.S. unemployment rate, not seasonally adjusted, in July 2025 was 4.6% or 0.3 percentage points above the transportation sector rate. Seasonally adjusted, the U.S. unemployment rate in July 2025 was 4.2%,” according to BLS.
Key takeaways:
- Air transportation rose to 579,500 in July 2025, up 0.4% from the previous month and up 2.6% from July 2024.
- Truck transportation rose to 1,523,200 in July 2025, up 0.2% from the previous month and up 0.4% from July 2024.
- Rail transportation remained virtually unchanged in July 2025 at 153,200 from the previous month but down 1.8% from July 2024.
- Warehousing and storage fell to 1,818,300 in July 2025, down 0.4% from the previous month and down 2.1% from July 2024.
