Trucking HR Canada (THRC) says employment among Canadian truck drivers grew faster in October than the overall labor market, even as the broader trucking and logistics sector shed jobs.
According to Statistics Canada’s Labor Force Survey, employment among transport truck drivers rose 1.5% in October — an increase of about 5,200 jobs compared to September. By contrast, overall employment across the Canadian economy grew by 67,000 jobs month over month, or 0.3%.
Despite gains among drivers, total employment in the trucking and logistics sector fell by 9,000 positions in October, down 1.1% from the previous month.
The unemployment rate in trucking and logistics went down slightly to 3.9% in October from 4% in September. Among transport truck drivers, unemployment was 4.5% in October, up from 4.4% the previous month, but still well below the national unemployment rate of 6.9% in October and 7.1% in September.
THRC says year-over-year comparisons provide a clearer picture of market conditions. “We also compare data to the same month last year to help remove some of the seasonal factors that may influence the data month to month,” said Craig Faucette, chief operating officer at THRC, in a news release. “Reduced employment and increased unemployment of transport truck drivers in October 2025 compared to 2024 suggests demand may be falling and that there may be more drivers competing for fewer positions this year.”
Across the Canadian labor market, employment in October was up 1.4% year over year. In trucking and logistics, employment rose by more than 2% compared to October 2024, while employment of transport truck drivers declined by 1.9% over the same period. The unemployment rate in trucking and logistics held close to 4% year over year, but unemployment among drivers increased from 3.7% in October 2024 to 4.5% in October 2025. THRC also highlighted a 19.3% rise in the number of unemployed workers actively seeking work.
