WASHINGTON — Workers may find it difficult to get a job, but there’s one industry where employers can’t hire fast enough: trucking.
“We are absolutely seeing [a] driver shortage right now,” said Rod Suarez from the American Trucking Association, the largest national trade association for trucking industry. “Employers have troubles finding qualified drivers. In some companies the hiring rate is lower than 10%.”
According to the Department of Transportation, drivers have been required to have a commercial driver’s license, or CDL, in order to drive certain commercial motor vehicles since April 1, 1992. Most trucking companies only look for experienced drivers with clean histories.
“Another big reason is new drivers need CDL to drive trucks. But that costs about $46,000 and only some of the companies will reimburse the tuition,” Suarez said. “Even so, a lot of people just don’t have that much cash out of their own pocket.”
Right now, the shortage for truck drivers is between 20,000 and 30,000 nationwide, according to the American Trucking Associations’ quarterly trucking activity report.
“If nothing is done, the shortage will worsen,” Suarez said. “But some companies are already doing it. More companies are considering starting their own driving schools. But none of them really want to do it. They have to, they don’t have a choice.”
Federal Reserve banks across the country reported difficulty meeting demand for certain skilled positions in the August Beige Book, a summary of the current economic conditions from its 12 districts.
Contacts in the Kansas City, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta and Dallas area all said they found it hard to find truck drivers.
Over the last year, 46,200 jobs were added in the truck transportation segment.
For the economy as a whole, 114,000 nonfarm jobs were added in September, compared with the revised 142,000 gain in August, while job openings in July were 3.7 million.
“The reasons might be skills mismatch, housing situation, you know, people owe too much on their house and can’t move, or they are not paying enough,” said Guy Podgornik, an economist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Some economists are not optimistic about improvement.
“The recovery is very sluggish,” said Brian Jones, a senior U.S. economist at Société Générale in New York. “The unemployment rate might be down but that is most likely because more people have left the labor market. That trend will continue.”
The Federal Reserve will release the September Beige Book on Wednesday, giving an indication of how sectors like the trucking industry are faring in the quest to hire drivers.
The Labor Department will release Job Openings and Labor Turnover data for August on the same day.