And exceptional job market has underpinned a growing logistics labor force as US trade remains at the forefront of the news this summer. While the perfect storm of low unemployment numbers and finally rising wages takes hold, companies are beginning to look at filling seasonal positions for the upcoming holidays. Further to the seasonal positions, tariffs and negotiations between the US and China have cargo coming into ports in droves to avoid the higher duties expected at the first of the year and warehouses, truckers and distribution centers are working like mad to have the staff to handle the deluge.
In August, the transportation and warehousing section added over 20,000 jobs as gains were seen in couriers and last mile deliveries, trucking, warehousing and sourcing. As the talent pool shrink with fewer people searching for jobs, wages are following the trend and rising finally; 0.4% in August and 2.9% year over year for logistics workers.
The decrease in the talent pool, especially for logistics is evident in the perception of the logistics profession, currently. No more are these jobs considered to be strictly blue collar. Managers, buyers, coordinators, administrators and directors are titles and positions sitting open as the industry searches for talented professionals to fill in these jobs.
We at BCS Placement will continue to monitor how the low unemployment numbers impact wages and the available human resources as the US Department of Labor releases this information monthly.
