Railroad industry employment has declined significantly in the United States
since World War II. Factors contributing to this decline include increased
productivity, industry consolidation, new technologies, and the significant
reduction in passenger and local freight service. Between the years of 1951 and
1972, industry employment declined by an average of more than 40,000 jobs per
year.
After decades of declining headcounts, railroad employment stabilized in the
mid-to-late 1990s. Investor pressure to operate more efficiently, coupled with baby
boomer retirement, left some freight railroads unprepared for the surge
in demand since 2003. Aside from contraction during the global recession of 2008,
railroad employment is expanding to meet growing demand.
The chart below shows annual U.S. railroad industry
employment compared to Class I railroad operating revenues. Data is sourced from the
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and Association of American Railroads (AAR),
with calculations and analysis by RailServe.com.
Note that these labor statistics reflect direct railroad employment and exclude related
industries such as railcar manufacturing. Revenue figures in the table have not been adjusted
for inflation. When adjusting for inflation, 2014 revenue is approximately 16%
lower than 1947 revenue, while 2014 revenue per employee is approximately 5.4
times that of 1947.
For a breakdown of rail jobs by occupation, please see the
Railroad Occupations,
Wages & Salaries Page. For current job postings and a guide to employment opportunities in the railroad industry, please see
the Railroad Jobs & Employment section.
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with any questions.
Year |
Employment |
Change |
% |
|
Revenue
(billions) |
Revenue Per
Employee |
1947 |
1,516,000 |
|
|
|
$8.7 |
$5,738 |
1948 |
1,477,000 |
-39,000 |
-2.5% |
|
|
|
1949 |
1,331,000 |
-146,000 |
-9.9% |
|
|
|
1950 |
1,354,000 |
23,000 |
1.7% |
|
|
|
1951 |
1,411,000 |
57,000 |
4.2% |
|
$10.4 |
$7,369 |
1952 |
1,363,000 |
-48,000 |
-3.4% |
|
$10.6 |
$7,775 |
1953 |
1,340,000 |
-23,000 |
-1.6% |
|
$10.7 |
$7,980 |
1954 |
1,184,000 |
-156,000 |
-11.7% |
|
$9.4 |
$7,939 |
1955 |
1,173,000 |
-11,000 |
-0.9% |
|
$10.1 |
$8,605 |
1956 |
1,160,000 |
-13,000 |
-1.2% |
|
$10.6 |
$9,138 |
1957 |
1,092,000 |
-68,000 |
-5.8% |
|
$10.5 |
$9,608 |
1958 |
933,000 |
-159,000 |
-14.6% |
|
$9.6 |
$10,288 |
1959 |
901,000 |
-32,000 |
-3.4% |
|
$9.8 |
$10,877 |
1960 |
862,000 |
-39,000 |
-4.3% |
|
$9.5 |
$11,015 |
1961 |
795,000 |
-67,000 |
-7.8% |
|
$9.2 |
$11,564 |
1962 |
775,000 |
-20,000 |
-2.5% |
|
$9.4 |
$12,118 |
1963 |
751,000 |
-24,000 |
-3.1% |
|
$9.6 |
$12,774 |
1964 |
736,000 |
-15,000 |
-2.0% |
|
$9.9 |
$13,441 |
1965 |
716,000 |
-20,000 |
-2.7% |
|
$10.2 |
$14,240 |
1966 |
706,000 |
-10,000 |
-1.4% |
|
$10.7 |
$15,145 |
1967 |
680,000 |
-26,000 |
-3.7% |
|
$10.4 |
$15,290 |
1968 |
650,000 |
-30,000 |
-4.3% |
|
$10.9 |
$16,752 |
1969 |
632,000 |
-18,000 |
-2.8% |
|
$11.5 |
$18,186 |
1970 |
617,000 |
-15,000 |
-2.4% |
|
$12.0 |
$19,441 |
1971 |
589,000 |
-28,000 |
-4.4% |
|
$12.7 |
$21,533 |
1972 |
566,000 |
-23,000 |
-4.0% |
|
$13.4 |
$23,668 |
1973 |
563,000 |
-3,000 |
-0.4% |
|
$14.8 |
$26,251 |
1974 |
574,000 |
11,000 |
1.9% |
|
$16.9 |
$29,405 |
1975 |
533,000 |
-41,000 |
-7.1% |
|
$16.4 |
$30,719 |
1976 |
523,000 |
-10,000 |
-1.9% |
|
$18.5 |
$35,323 |
1977 |
530,000 |
7,000 |
1.3% |
|
$20.1 |
$37,886 |
1978 |
524,000 |
-6,000 |
-1.1% |
|
$21.7 |
$41,340 |
1979 |
541,000 |
17,000 |
3.2% |
|
$25.2 |
$46,524 |
1980 |
518,000 |
-23,000 |
-4.3% |
|
$28.3 |
$54,584 |
1981 |
482,000 |
-36,000 |
-7.0% |
|
$30.9 |
$64,077 |
1982 |
418,000 |
-64,000 |
-13.2% |
|
$27.5 |
$65,724 |
1983 |
366,000 |
-52,000 |
-12.5% |
|
$26.7 |
$72,933 |
1984 |
366,000 |
--- |
--- |
|
$29.5 |
$80,619 |
1985 |
350,000 |
-16,000 |
-4.4% |
|
$27.6 |
$78,912 |
1986 |
323,000 |
-27,000 |
-7.6% |
|
$26.2 |
$81,106 |
1987 |
300,000 |
-23,000 |
-6.9% |
|
$26.6 |
$88,465 |
1988 |
290,000 |
-10,000 |
-3.4% |
|
$27.9 |
$96,094 |
1989 |
284,000 |
-6,000 |
-1.9% |
|
$28.0 |
$98,266 |
1990 |
271,000 |
-13,000 |
-4.6% |
|
$28.4 |
$104,495 |
1991 |
255,000 |
-16,000 |
-5.9% |
|
$27.8 |
$108,750 |
1992 |
248,000 |
-7,000 |
-2.9% |
|
$28.3 |
$114,055 |
1993 |
242,000 |
-6,000 |
-2.4% |
|
$28.8 |
$118,906 |
1994 |
234,000 |
-8,000 |
-3.2% |
|
$30.8 |
$131,311 |
1995 |
232,000 |
-2,000 |
-0.9% |
|
$32.3 |
$138,890 |
1996 |
225,000 |
-7,000 |
-3.1% |
|
$32.7 |
$145,161 |
1997 |
220,000 |
-5,000 |
-1.9% |
|
$33.1 |
$149,836 |
1998 |
225,000 |
5,000 |
1.9% |
|
$33.2 |
$147,545 |
1999 |
228,000 |
3,000 |
1.7% |
|
$33.5 |
$146,373 |
2000 |
232,000 |
4,000 |
1.3% |
|
$34.1 |
$147,099 |
2001 |
227,000 |
-5,000 |
-2.2% |
|
$34.2 |
$150,844 |
2002 |
218,000 |
-9,000 |
-4.0% |
|
$35.3 |
$162,199 |
2003 |
218,000 |
--- |
--- |
|
$35.7 |
$164,157 |
2004 |
226,000 |
8,000 |
3.8% |
|
$40.5 |
$179,448 |
2005 |
228,000 |
2,000 |
1.0% |
|
$46.1 |
$202,252 |
2006 |
228,000 |
--- |
--- |
|
$52.2 |
$229,215 |
2007 |
234,000 |
6,000 |
2.5% |
|
$54.6 |
$233,800 |
2008 |
231,000 |
-3,000 |
-1.1% |
|
$61.2 |
$264,945 |
2009 |
218,000 |
-13,000 |
-5.5% |
|
$47.8 |
$219,082 |
2010 |
216,000 |
-2,000 |
-0.8% |
|
$58.4 |
$269,798 |
2011 |
228,000 |
12,000 |
5.5% |
|
$67.4 |
$295,215 |
2012 |
231,000 |
3,000 |
1.0% |
|
$69.9 |
$303,100 |
2013 |
231,000 |
--- |
--- |
|
$72.9 |
$315,414 |
2014 |
235,000 |
4,000 |
1.8% |
|
$77.7 |
$330,357 |
|