It’s official. According to an article on joc.com, U.S. trucking companies are now employing more workers than prior to the Great Recession. Five years of hiring gains and pay raises have contributed to this monumental increase in their employment numbers.

The final push, which led the employment rate to pass that of 2007, was a substantial hiring increase in the months of May and June 2015, with carriers hiring approximately 7,400 works according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

This is great news not only for carriers but for shippers as well, who have been concerned with capacity and a shortage of qualified truck drivers who are handling the goods they ship.  According to the BLS 18,900 jobs have been created in the past three months, which is significantly higher than the 15,700 and 13,000 jobs created in 2014 and 2013, respectively (data source: joc.com).

Unfortunately trucking firms are still not where they would like to be in regards to employment. According to the American Trucking Association, “firms still need an additional 35,000 to 40,000 workers to meet demand.”

Overall, this significant rise in employment is a step in the right direction for carriers and for customers who demand better service. The industry will need to continue working hard to find qualified workers and maintain quality as they ramp up.

Will the hiring rate continue to increase? How hard will it be to find the right workers?  

Original article can be read here.