The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its monthly Jobs Report  Oct. 7, and preliminary numbers show payroll employment in trucking dropped markedly.

The month of September saw 11,400 employees leave the trucking industry as diesel prices remain high and rates stay down off pandemic highs. 

Overall, September represents a big reversal of the prevailing trend, as payroll trucking employment had crashed at the onset of the pandemic, crept back up throughout 2021 to above pre-pandemic levels, remained almost flat through Summer 2022, and now crashed back down. 

Total nonfarm payroll employment in the U.S. increased by 263,000 in September, according to BLS. Monthly job growth has averaged 420,000 so far in 2022, compared with 562,000 per month in 2021. In September, notable job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality and in health care.

Transportation and warehousing as a whole saw a monthly decrease of 7,900 jobs in September, with trucking’s loss offset in part by air transportation, which added 2,800 jobs; and support activities for transportation, which added 4,900 jobs.