Truck driver vacancies are flattening and returning to pre-pandemic levels, Trucking HR Canada (THRC) says in its latest labor market snapshot for Q1 2025.
The data show an average of just over 13,900 vacant truck driver positions in 2024, down 5.3% from the 2015–2019 average of nearly 14,700 positions annually. In the broader truck transportation industry, job vacancies averaged 3.9% below pre-Covid levels.
However, trucking’s job vacancy rate remains significantly higher than the national average.
“Despite the drop, the industry’s job vacancy rate is 1.5 times higher than the average across the Canadian economy,” said Craig Faucette, chief program officer at THRC, in a news release. “Job vacancies for transport truck drivers rose slightly in Q1, compared to the previous quarter but continue to moderate year over year.”
Job vacancies for transport truck drivers fell to 3.5% in Q1 this year, compared to 4.6% a year ago.
In the truck transportation industry specifically, Q1 2025 vacancies dropped 23% year over year. The average vacancy rate in the sector was 4.1%, down from 5.3% a year earlier.
Vacancy rates in truck transportation remain elevated compared to the all-industry average, which stood at 2.8% in Q1 2025.
“While overall demand for workers may be declining, trucking employers may still struggle to find the workers they need,” the release says.
