Overall unemployment numbers which were released earlier this week showed a volatile labor market. The Associated Press reported the overall unemployment rate at around 4.6 percent.
The unemployment rate in the U.S. transportation sector was 4.8% (not seasonally adjusted) in November 2025 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
According to a release by the Bureau of Transportation Statistcs (BTS), these data have been updated on its Unemployment in Transportation dashboard.
The BTS says in November 2025, the transportation sector unemployment rate remained unchanged from 4.8% in November 2024. 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 higher than overall unemployment. The BLS reported that the U.S. unemployment rate, not seasonally adjusted, in November 2025 was 4.3% or 0.5 percentage points below the transportation sector rate. Seasonally adjusted, the U.S. unemployment rate in November 2025 was 4.6% just as AP reported earlier this week.
Transportation Sector and Total Unemployment Rate Nov. 2019 Nov. 2025 show: 3.3% for total U.S. in Nov. 2019 and 4.8% total U.S. in Nov. 2025.
Seasonally adjusted, employment in the transportation and warehousing sector fell to 6,684,400 in November 2025 — down 0.3% from the previous month and down 0.1% from November 2024. By mode (seasonally adjusted):
Air transportation rose to 579,000 in November 2025 — up 0.3% from the previous month and up 2.4% from November 2024.
- Truck transportation fell to 1,509,600 in November 2025 — down 0.3% from the previous month and down 0.5% from November 2024.
- Transit and ground passenger transportation rose to 495,900 in November 2025 — up 0.6% from the previous month and up 2.0% from November 2024.
- Rail transportation fell to 150,800 in November 2025 — down 0.2% from the previous month and down 3.1% from November 2024.
- Water transportation fell to 71,400 in November 2025 — down 0.1% from the previous month but up 2.4% from November 2024.
- Pipeline transportation rose to 61,400 in November 2025 — up 0.3% from the previous month and up 10.0% from November 2024.
- Warehousing and storage rose to 1,816,400 in November 2025 — up 0.1% from the previous month but down 1.5% from November 2024.
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; meaning they are either currently working or actively looking for work. Unemployed persons include those who 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.
An unemployed person’s industry is the industry for the last job they held in the workforce, which may or may not reflect their current job search field or industry.
Bruce Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has lived in three states including Arkansas, Missouri and Georgia. During his nearly 20-year career, Bruce has served as managing editor and sports editor for numerous publications. He and his wife, Dana, who is also a journalist, are based in Carrollton, Georgia.
