Employment in trucking and logistics grew faster than other sectors
Ottawa, ON (June 15, 2026) — Recent data from Trucking HR Canada (THRC) shows employment in trucking and logistics grew at a faster rate in May 2026 than the Canadian labour market in general. Year-over-year, employment in the sector was up 2.8% — adding 21,500 jobs compared to May 2025.
Trucking and logistics is generally seen as a leading economic indicator and one of the top contributors to Canada’s employment growth.
Craig Faucette, THRC’s Chief Operating Officer, says this is encouraging news against the previous trend of job losses. “Trucking and logistics contributed 33,500 jobs to national employment growth in May,” he says. “Within the sector job numbers, truck drivers surged by 17,800 jobs or 6% in May compared to April. This is the first month-to-month increase in driver employment this year.”
According to Statistics Canada, construction led job creation in May, with transportation and warehousing tied for second with information, culture, and recreation. THRC data shows that about 8% of the jobs added in construction were transport truck drivers, and although wholesale trade lost almost 4,600 jobs in May, they added 1,500 transport truck drivers.
Other highlights:
- Employment in trucking and logistics is up 2.8% or 21,500 jobs year-over-year
- Employment of truck drivers is down 3.4% or 11,100 jobs year-over-year
- Unemployment in the sector in May 2026 is down year-over-year with 4,800 fewer workers seeking jobs (-9.8%)
- Among truck drivers, unemployment is down 6.8% year-over-year with 1,500 fewer unemployed drivers actively looking for work
- The unemployment rate fell year-over-year in the trucking and logistics sector from 6.0% to 5.3%. For transport truck drivers it fell from 6.4% to 6.2%
- Across the Canadian labour force, the unemployment rate fell year-over-year from 7.0% to 6.6%
See all our labour market reports.
Trucking HR Canada (THRC) is the national, non-profit workforce development organization for Canada’s trucking and logistics sector. Established in 2012, THRC is the recognized authority on workforce strategy for the industry, providing labour market intelligence, workforce research, skills development initiatives, occupational standards, training resources and evidence-based human resource solutions.
Working closely with employers, industry associations, governments, educators and workforce stakeholders, THRC supports a sector that employs nearly 800,000 Canadians and plays a critical role in Canada’s supply chain.
Media contact: comms@truckinghr.com
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