(Source: Progressive Railroading, August 20, 2020)
Class Is employed 117,230 people as of mid-July, down 0.95 percent from June and down 16.68 percent from July 2019 levels, according to Surface Transportation Board data. Five out of six employment categories logged month-to-month decreases. They were: maintenance of way and stores, down 2.18 percent to 19,550 employees; maintenance of way and structures, down 1.44 percent to 29,931; professional and administrative, down 1.25 percent to 10,381; transportation (other than train and engine), down 1.17 percent to 5,075; and executives, officials and staff assistants, down 0.92 percent to 7,521. Only one category — transportation (train and engine) — posted an increase in employment since mid-June. Class Is employed 44,772 employees in that category, a 5.26 percent increase from mid-June. On a year-over-year basis, all employment categories logged decreases but the hardest hit was transportation (train and engine) employees, which dropped 24.49 percent.
Full story: Progressive Railroading