Class 1 Rail Employment Up Slightly in April

Class 1 railroad employ rose slightly in April, but is still down from the level it was a year ago.

The U.S. Surface Transportation Board said railroads employed 145,959 workers in mid-April, which was an increase of 0.59 percent over mid March, but a 2.11 percent decline compared with April 2017.

All but one employment category — professional and administrative — reflected slight increases in the workforce on a month-over-month basis.

Categories that saw increases since mid March included executives, officials and staff assistants, up 0.07 percent to 8,298 workers; maintenance of way and structures, up 0.65 percent to 32,644; maintenance of equipment and stores up 0.22 percent to 26,647; transportation (other than train and engine), up 0.18 percent to 5,566; and transportation (train and engine), up 0.99 percent to 60,891.

The professional and administrative category fell 0.21 percent to 11,913 employees when comparing April with March of 2018.

On a year-to-year comparison, all but one category — transportation (train and engine) — saw decreases.

Categories that posted declines since then included executives and staff assistants, down 6.05 percent; professional and administrative, down 5.98 percent; maintenance of way and structures, down 4.6 percent; maintenance of equipment and stores, down 4.32 percent; and transportation (other than train and engine), down 4.84 percent.

The transportation (train and engine) workforce category rose 2.02 percent in April compared with April 2017.

Tags: Class 1 railroad employment, railroad employment, Railroad workers, U.S. Class 1 Railroads, U.S. Surface Transportation Board