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U.S. Railroad Employment & Productivity Statistics

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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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

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