Canada added 28,500 transport truck drivers in May, contributing to the 305,000 who were on the job – slightly above the annual average seen in 2022, Trucking HR Canada reports in its June labor market snapshot.

That left 3,100 fewer job seekers than there were in April, when unemployment rates reached 6.5% and hit one of the highest rates since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This, combined with the sharp uptick in employment in May of 2023, suggests that the trucking and logistics industry may be headed back into a tighter labor market, especially for drivers,” Trucking HR Canada observes.

There were 276,500 employed truck drivers in January, down 8.5% compared to 2022.

The broader trucking and logistics sector added 18,200 jobs in May, employing 729,100 workers, following declines from February to April.

There were 725,300 employees in the sector this January, down 4.8% or 36,400 jobs compared to 2022.

“Over the first five months of 2023, employment in trucking and logistics fell, with 34,600 workers actively seeking work and an unemployment rate of 4.6% in March,” the organization said. “By May, trucking and logistics’ unemployment rate fell to 4.1% and the number of active job seekers decreased to 31,000. By comparison, the unemployment rate across the Canadian economy averaged 5.3% between January and May.”