Both employment and unemployment in Canada’s trucking and logistics sectors fell slightly since October, despite the overall Canadian workforce numbers showing strong gains, according to Trucking HR Canada’s latest labor market update.
Overall employment across the Canadian economy rose by 58,000 jobs in November, mostly driven by part-time positions, and the national unemployment rate fell from 6.9% in October to 6.5% in November, THRC says, referencing Statistics Canada’s latest data release last week.
The unemployment rate in the trucking and logistics — including for drivers — remains well below the national average, down 0.2% year over year. Among transport truck drivers specifically, however, the unemployment rate increased to 4.4%, up from 3.7% last November.
“The number of unemployed workers in the transport truck driver occupation is up 14.2% or 1,900 job seekers year over year,” said Craig Faucette, chief operating officer, THRC.
Meanwhile, employment is up 0.4% year over year, adding about 2,800 jobs. Employment of transport truck drivers, however, declined 3% compared to the same month last year, translating to a loss of about 10,500 driver positions.
