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During September 2026, the transportation sector unemployment rate rose 0.4 percentage points from 4.3% in September 2025, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said today. [U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Transportation Economic Trends – AutoCrat]*
“Unemployment in the transportation sector was higher than the overall unemployment. BLS reports that the U.S. unemployment rate, not seasonally adjusted, in September 2026 was 4.0% or 0.7 percentage points below the transportation sector rate. Seasonally adjusted, the U.S. unemployment rate in September 2026 was 4.2%,” BLS said.
Transportation Sector Unemployment By Mode Seasonally Adjusted
- Air transportation rose to 568,500 in September 2026 — up 0.2% from the previous month but down 0.3% from September 2025.
- Truck transportation rose to 1,473,100 in September 2026 — up 0.2% from the previous month and up 0.1% from September 2025.
- Transit and ground passenger transportation rose to 500,800 in September 2026 — up 0.6% from the previous month and up 2.3% from September 2025.
- Rail transportation fell to 148,900 in September 2026 — down 0.2% from the previous month and down 3.1% from September 2025.
- Water transportation rose to 70,900 in September 2026 — up 0.3% from the previous month and up 0.1% from September 2025.
- Pipeline transportation fell to 56,600 in September 2026 — down 0.4% from the previous month but up 0.2% from September 2025.
- Warehousing and storage fell to 1,831,800 in September 2026 — down 0.2% from the previous month and down 1.2% from September 2025.
- Unemployment in the transportation sector reached its highest level during the COVID-19 pandemic (15.7%) in May 2020 and July 2020.
*AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
U.S. Transportation Sector Unemployment Rises
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During September 2026, the transportation sector unemployment rate rose 0.4 percentage points from 4.3% in September 2025, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said today. [U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Transportation Economic Trends – AutoCrat]*
“Unemployment in the transportation sector was higher than the overall unemployment. BLS reports that the U.S. unemployment rate, not seasonally adjusted, in September 2026 was 4.0% or 0.7 percentage points below the transportation sector rate. Seasonally adjusted, the U.S. unemployment rate in September 2026 was 4.2%,” BLS said.
Transportation Sector Unemployment By Mode Seasonally Adjusted
*AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.