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Table 3-20b: Employment in Transportation and Transportation-Related Occupations

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Vehicle operators, pipeline operators, and primary support

SOC code Occupation 1999 2000 2001 2002
53-2011 Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers 88,040 94,820 88,800 78,810
53-2012 Commercial pilots 18,780 18,040 18,380 19,570
53-2022 Airfield operations specialists 4,510 4,580 5,390 5,910
53-2021 Air traffic controllers 22,620 23,350 22,990 23,410
53-3011 Ambulance drivers and attendants, except emergency medical technicians 13,520 15,700 17,620 17,280
53-3021 Bus drivers, transit and intercity 160,210 175,470 190,530 197,090
53-3022 Bus drivers, school 463,860 457,050 469,100 468,790
53-3031 Driver/sales workers 385,210 373,660 378,220 368,730
53-3032 Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer 1,558,400 1,577,070 1,548,480 1,520,880
53-3033 Truck drivers, light or delivery services 1,085,050 1,033,220 996,000 977,920
53-3041 Taxi drivers and chauffeurs 119,630 130,200 125,860 125,720
53-4011 Locomotive engineers 19,940 29,390 30,730 28,250
53-4012 Locomotive firers 890 1,040 730 710
53-4013 Rail yard engineers, dinkey operators, and hostlers 5,070 4,020 4,840 4,600
53-4021 Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators 14,500 16,830 17,070 15,030
53-4031 Railroad conductors and yardmasters 36,680 40,380 40,910 38,070
53-4041 Subway and street car operators U 3,190 U 7,250
53-5011 Sailors and marine oilers 27,200 30,090 28,650 25,360
53-5021 Captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels 20,660 21,080 22,180 22,530
53-5022 Motorboat operators 4,000 3,540 3,410 3,600
53-5031 Ship engineers 6,800 7,370 7,470 8,020
53-6011 Bridge and lock tenders 6,970 4,790 4,500 3,900
53-7071 Gas compressor and gas pumping station operators 6,940 6,510 6,070 6,920
53-7072 Pump operators, except wellhead pumpers 13,480 13,730 12,920 12,360

Transportation equipment manufacturing and maintenance occupations

SOC code Occupation 1999 2000 2001 2002
17-2011 Aerospace engineers 71,790 71,550 74,380 74,210
17-2121 Marine engineers and naval architects 4,450 4,680 4,860 4,810
17-3021 Aerospace engineering and operations technicians 17,270 19,850 15,570 14,700
49-2091 Avionics technicians 15,560 15,360 16,340 21,710
49-2093 Electrical and electronics installers and repairers, transportation equipment 14,700 15,930 16,650 17,320
49-2096 Electronic equipment installers and repairers, motor vehicles 14,250 12,480 13,210 15,200
49-3011 Aircraft mechanics and service technicians 125,970 135,730 135,250 125,850
49-3021 Automotive body and related repairers 179,960 168,170 168,630 175,370
49-3022 Automotive glass installers and repairers 20,520 21,240 21,550 19,710
49-3023 Automotive service technicians and mechanics 587,320 692,570 701,150 687,380
49-3031 Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists 273,320 258,800 254,420 254,470
49-3043 Rail car repairers 7,230 10,620 11,860 13,520
49-3051 Motorboat mechanics 18,450 19,040 18,370 18,550
49-3052 Motorcycle mechanics 11,390 11,720 13,290 13,030
49-3091 Bicycle repairers 8,080 7,940 7,730 7,000
49-3092 Recreational vehicle service technicians 13,100 12,200 11,830 12,490
49-3093 Tire repairers and changers 99,880 88,530 86,200 81,560
51-2011 Aircraft structure, surfaces, rigging, and systems assemblers 18,070 32,680 33,620 25,690
51-9122 Painters, transportation equipment 45,920 43,270 44,090 45,670
51-9197 Tire builders 16,680 15,790 13,410 13,020
53-6031 Service station attendants 109,050 106,010 107,650 102,550
53-7061 Cleaners of vehicles and equipment 302,380 301,330 304,500 311,070

Transportation Infrastructure construction and maintenance occupations

SOC code Occupation 1999 2000 2001 2002
47-2071 Paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators 58,410 56,330 57,880 58,760
47-4051 Highway maintenance workers 139,540 145,790 148,390 146,290
47-4061 Rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators 8,620 9,940 11,680 10,450
49-9097 Signal and track switch repairers 3,720 5,540 8,550 7,990
53-7031 Dredge operators 1,910 3,100 2,920 2,850

Secondary Support Service Occupations

SOC code Occupation 1999 2000 2001 2002
13-1032 Insurance appraisers, auto damage 19,310 12,320 12,110 13,270
33-3041 Parking enforcement workers 7,660 8,040 9,160 10,180
33-3052 Transit and railroad police 4,590 5,760 6,750 6,010
33-9091 Crossing guards 68,310 72,830 69,990 73,020
39-6022 Travel guides 4,180 5,200 5,480 4,960
39-6031 Flight attendants 123,310 126,380 115,750 104,360
39-6032 Transportation attendants, except flight attendants and baggage porters 22,780 23,550 25,910 26,580
41-3041 Travel agents 111,130 124,030 111,310 104,550
43-4181 Reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks 222,340 199,700 183,280 174,170
43-5021 Couriers and messengers 134,370 130,210 121,670 120,900
43-5032 Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance 171,560 167,180 170,050 168,380
43-5052 Postal service mail carriers 352,550 354,980 355,120 347,420
43-5071 Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks 886,230 864,530 802,600 792,470
53-6021 Parking lot attendants 109,340 116,930 109,930 108,460
53-6041 Traffic technicians 5,000 4,590 5,090 5,370
53-6051 Transportation inspectors 22,440 26,520 27,670 28,340
53-7081 Refuse and recyclable material collectors 135,320 118,910 125,600 132,290
53-7121 Tank car, truck, and ship loaders 20,830 17,480 19,430 16,960

Other

SOC code Occupation 1999 2000 2001 2002
11-3071 Transportation, storage, and distribution managers 123,450 116,680 108,590 107,400
53-1011 Aircraft cargo handling supervisors 8,090 9,960 9,070 8,920
53-1021 First-line supervisors/managers of helpers, laborers, and material movers, hand 138,210 146,790 147,490 147,180
53-1031 First-line supervisors/managers of transportation and material-moving machine and vehicle operators 175,260 186,710 197,430 207,280

KEY: SOC = Standard Occupational Classification; U = data are not available.

NOTES

Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) uses a mail survey to measure employment levels and wage rates for all full- and part-time wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments. The survey does not include self-employed owners and partners in unincorporated firms, household workers, or unpaid family workers. In 1999 OES began using the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system to organize occupational data. Consequently estimates from 1999 and subsequent years are not directly comparable to previous occupational estimates. The SOC is being adopted by all federal agences and consists of 821 detailed occupations, grouped into 449 board occupations, 96 minor groups, and 23 major groups.

A broad definition of transportation and transportation-related occupations is used in this table based on Sen, B. and M. Rossetti, "A Complete Count of the U.S. Transportation Workforce," Transportation Research Record 1719: 2000, pp 259-266. Some occupational categories may include workers not engaged in transportation or transportation-related activities. For example, the category "first-line supervisors/managers" (53-1021 and 53-1031) may include workers in material moving occupations along with transportation occupations. Moreover, some workers engaged in transportation and transportation-related activities may be excluded. For example, "baggage porters and bellhops" is not included in this table because it is believed that a large share of workers in this category work in hotels or similar establishments.

SOURCES

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wages, 2002 (Washington, DC: November 2003), Internet site http://www.bls.gov/oes.
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