U.S. Class I workforce contracted in November, STB data shows

U.S. Class Is as of mid-November employed 114,960 people, down 1.58% from October's level and down 13.71% from November 2019's count, according to Surface Transportation Board (STB) data.

Year over year, all workforce categories registered employment decreases. They were: maintenance of equipment and stores, down 21.94% to 18,242; transportation (train and engine), down 15.01% to 46,434 workers; transportation (other than train and engine), down 11.2% to 4,829; maintenance of way and structures, down 10.82% to 27,863; professional and administrative, down 5.81% to 10,276; and executives, officials and staff assistants, down 4.10% to 7,316.

All categories also logged decreases in mid-November compared with mid-October's count: maintenance of way and structures, down 3.2%; maintenance of equipment and stores, down 2.36%; transportation (other than T&E), down 1.49%; professional and administrative, down 0.8%; transportation (T&E), down 0.67%; and executives, officials and staff assistants, down 0.16%.

The STB's U.S. Class I workforce data shows that as of mid-November, BNSF Railway Co. employed 35,081 and Union Pacific Railroad employed 32,046, the top two highest totals. The other employment totals were: Norfolk Southern Railway, 19,199; CSX, 17,093; CN/Grand Trunk, 6,183; Kansas City Southern, 2,718; and Canadian Pacific/Soo Line, 2,640.