Trucking Employment Drops Then Levels Off in August and September 2023

It appears that the numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) have been going every-which-way in the past few months. Here are the preliminary numbers for those two months, circa October 2023.

Employment Numbers

• We last reported that July 2023 employment was 1,604,300. This has since been updated so that the final number is 1,600,900.
• August 2023’s second preliminary numbers suggest quite the downward trend at 1,575,700.
• September 2023 has the number start to normalize at 1,584,500.

All of this raises the question: what on Earth happened that caused the reported numbers to drop so suddenly and then rise with almost as much vigor? If anyone knows (or wants to guess) the answer, feel free to comment below. We believe it might have to do with more unemployment stemming from Yellow declaring bankruptcy. Because it happened at the very end of July, it makes sense that it would have more impact on August’s numbers than the seventh month of the year.

As for wages, August was higher than July but lower than June. June’s final wage numbers are slightly different from its preliminaries just as the employment count was, and had $30.90 per hour and 40.5 hours, or $1,251.45 each week. July had $31.00 and 40.2, totaling $1,246.2. Finally August’s preliminary figures show $30.79 and 40.5 hours, coming to $1,247. Considering all three of these numbers were within a ten dollar range of each other, it is fair to say that wages, on average, did not change significantly.

Conclusion

If we assume that 100% of this change can be explained by Yellow having mass layoffs due to bankruptcy, then that means there are still truckers that are out of work, and it is extremely likely that the number will increase yet again in October, perhaps even once again going about the 1,600,000 milestone.

As of right now the current record for trucking industry employment is January of this year, at 1,611,400. Will the industry beat that number this holiday season?

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