The U.S. transportation job market showed mixed signals in April 2025 as hiring in the truck transportation sector slowed significantly, while warehousing and storage employment surged, reflecting the ongoing complexities in the freight and supply chain landscape.
According to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the trucking sector added just 1,400 jobs in April, a sharp drop from the 7,000 jobs added in March. However, the March numbers were later revised downward from 1.525 million to 1.523 million jobs, emphasizing the fragile state of trucking employment. April’s total stood at 1,524,500, marking less than a 0.1% increase and signaling that hiring may have hit a turning point.
Comparatively, truck transportation employment is down 3.2% from April 2023 and nearly 4% lower than its all-time peak in July 2022. These figures highlight the ongoing challenges faced by the sector, including uncertain freight volumes, elevated operating costs, and broader macroeconomic headwinds such as interest rates and trade volatility.
While trucking hiring slowed, warehousing and storage employment experienced robust growth, fueled in part by importers front-loading inventory ahead of new tariffs. April saw the addition of 9,800 warehousing jobs, building on a dramatic revision of March figures. March’s employment number in this segment was revised upward by more than 20,000 jobs, bringing it to 1,843,600, with April further increasing to 1.853 million. This surge reflects temporary staffing needs to handle swelling inventories and manage logistical complexities.
In the courier sector, job growth remained relatively steady. While initial March numbers suggested a spike, revisions showed a loss of 10,000 jobs, offset by a gain of 8,400 jobs in April, bringing total employment in this sector to 1,184,100.
Analysts attribute much of the recent volatility in hiring to tariff-driven disruptions. David Spencer of Arrive Logistics noted that proactive inventory stocking by shippers is temporarily boosting demand, especially in warehousing. Similarly, economist Aaron Terrazas warned that although the job market appears resilient, data revisions paint a less stable picture, particularly during economic turning points. He called attention to sharp downward revisions in overall payroll data from February and March, underscoring the importance of viewing job reports with caution.
Despite the soft hiring trend, truck driver wages remain strong. The average hourly wage, initially reported as $30.50 in February, was revised upward to $32.05, with March figures holding near that at $31.92. Weekly work hours also increased slightly, lifting overall earnings by about $11 per week.
The April jobs report reflects an industry caught between short-term surges in warehousing labor demand and a cautious, slowing trajectory in truck transportation employment, driven largely by policy shifts and economic uncertainties.
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