Takeaways: 

  • The consistent decline in job postings that began in early 2022 showed signs of leveling off in Q3 2024. As of Oct. 18, job postings were 10.8% above pre-pandemic levels.
  • Job posting trends within the broader transportation sector are mixed: Postings rose in the Logistic Support segment but declined in others. 
  • Annual posted wage growth for Driving roles slowed to just 0.5% in September. 
  • Pay transparency — measured as the share of job postings within a given sector that contain some information on proposed pay — was higher in all Transportation sectors than the rate across the overall labor market. 
Video of Hiring Lab Senior Economist Daniel Culbertson discussing the US Labor Market Update for Q3 2024 with a focus on the Transportation vertical.

Indeed job postings 

Despite being down 13% from a year earlier, the US Indeed Job Posting Index (JPI) remained 10.8% above pre-pandemic levels as of Oct. 18. After declining consistently since early 2022, the US JPI showed signs of stabilization over the summer, hovering in a tight range between 10% and 13% above pre-pandemic norms for several months. This suggests that the cooling in demand for workers over the past several years has paused, at least for now, leaving some employers facing a bit less competition when looking to make hires. 

Line graph titled “US job postings remain 10.8% above the pre-pandemic baseline” shows the change in Indeed job postings since their pre-pandemic baseline, through October 18th, 2024. The vertical axis ranges from 0 to 200, while the horizontal axis ranges from February 1, 2020 to October 18, 2024. A single blue line shows that US job postings have fallen 12.9% over the past year.
Line graph titled “US job postings remain 10.8% above the pre-pandemic baseline” shows the change in Indeed job postings since their pre-pandemic baseline, through Oct. 18, 2024. US job postings have fallen 12.9% over the past year.

Transportation job postings 

The trends in Transportation job postings straddle either side of the overall labor market trend. Logistic Support is performing better than almost the entirety of the labor market, with job postings up 2.2% from the same time last year, and up nearly 25% from pre-pandemic norms. Meanwhile, job postings for Driving and Aviation jobs fell by 27.4% and 32.1%, respectively, from the same time a year ago. Despite the recent declines, postings in both the driving and aviation categories remain comfortably above pre-pandemic levels (+32.9% and +11.5%, respectively).

Table titled “Logistic Support postings edge higher” shows job posting trends over the past year through October 18th, 2024, as well as the percentage change from the pre-pandemic baseline, for several Transportation occupations. Driving job postings decreased 27.4% over the past year but remained 32.9% above their pre-pandemic baseline.
Table titled “Logistic Support postings edge higher” shows job posting trends over the past year through October 18th, 2024, as well as the percentage change from the pre-pandemic baseline, for several Transportation occupations. Driving job postings decreased 27.4% over the past year but remained 32.9% above their pre-pandemic baseline.

Transportation wage growth  

While overall wage growth stabilized over the summer, growth across Transportation-specific sectors continued to slow. At 3.2% year-over-year, posted wage growth in the Loading & Stocking sector in September was essentially even with the overall labor market average. However, at just 0.5%, year-over-year wage growth for Drivers was much more modest in September, a marked slowdown since March, when annual wage growth for drivers was 2.7%.

Line chart titled “Driving wage growth skids below pre-pandemic levels” shows year-over-year percentage wage growth for Driving and Loading & Stocking postings through September 2024. The vertical axis ranges from 0% to 12% and the horizontal axis ranges from January 2019 to September 2024. A blue line represents Driving job postings while a gray line represents Loading & Stocking postings. Wage growth in Driving postings is up 0.5% year-over-year. Loading & Stocking postings wage growth is up 3.2%.
Line chart titled “Driving wage growth skids below pre-pandemic levels” shows year-over-year percentage wage growth for Driving and Loading & Stocking postings through September 2024. Wage growth in Driving postings is up 0.5% year-over-year. 

Transportation pay transparency 

While momentum towards higher levels of pay transparency may have slowed, a clear majority (57.8%) of job postings featured information on wage or salary in September. In fact, transparency across all Transportation sectors is higher than the overall labor market. Some 60.8% of Loading & Stocking job postings included some pay information in September, as did almost three quarters (72.7%) of postings for driving roles. Additionally, 62.3% of Logistic Support postings included some pay transparency, a vast improvement from the small minority (47.2%) of such postings as recently as September 2023. 

Table titled “Pay transparency dips in Driving and Food Preparation & Service postings” shows pay transparency data for September 2023 and 2024, and the percentage point change over the course of that year, for several Transportation occupations. In September 2024, Logistic Support and Driving had pay information in 62.3% and 72.7% of job postings, respectively.
Table titled “Pay transparency dips in Driving and Food Preparation & Service postings” shows pay transparency data for September 2023 and 2024, and the percentage point change over the course of that year, for several Transportation occupations. In September 2024, Logistic Support and Driving had pay information in 62.3% and 72.7% of job postings, respectively.

For more labor market insights from the Indeed Hiring Lab, visit us at hiringlab.org.