Diesel Truck Drivers - Employment & Outlook

The table below provides information about the number of workers in this career in various regions. It also provides information about the expected growth rate and future job openings.

Employment

Major employers:

General freight trucking
Specialized freight trucking
Wholesale trade

Outlook

Demand for this career will be about as fast as average. Most companies ship goods by trucks from one part of the country to another. When the economy is strong, people buy more and truck drivers are needed to transport products. However, when the economy is weak, fewer products need to be transported. Drivers may work fewer hours or not at all during those periods.

Many openings will occur as experienced drivers move to other fields of work or retire. However, competition will be strong for the jobs with the best wages and working conditions.

Heavy Truck Drivers (CIS 100341)

Location	Employment	&	Growth		>>>>	Annual openings
			This occupation	All occupations
Illinois	87,007 Very large	&	4.3%	2.7%	>>>>	9,600 Very High
Champaign Area	1,392 Very large	&	0.6%	1.9%	>>>>	146 Very High
Charleston-Effingham-Centralia Area	2,020 Very large	&	3.0%	-1.2%	>>>>	219 Very High
Cook County	34,089 Very large	&	3.7%	3.0%	>>>>	3,733 Very High
Decatur Area	1,121 Very large	&	2.4%	0.1%	>>>>	120 Very High
DeKalb-Elgin-Aurora Area	4,724 Very large	&	7.1%	4.0%	>>>>	543 Very High
Du Page County	9,495 Very large	&	3.2%	3.7%	>>>>	1,032 Very High
Edwardsville Area	2,132 Very large	&	9.5%	4.4%	>>>>	252 Very High
Jacksonville-Carlinville-Litchfield Area	813 Very large	&	1.2%	-2.2%	>>>>	86 High
Kankakee-Morris-Pontiac Area	1,902 Very large	&	1.1%	-0.1%	>>>>	201 Very High
Lake County	3,375 Very large	&	4.0%	2.6%	>>>>	372 Very High
McHenry County	1,305 Very large	&	6.8%	6.1%	>>>>	149 Very High
Mt Vernon-Marion-Carbondale Area	1,159 Very large	&	4.9%	0.2%	>>>>	130 Very High
Northwest Illinois Area	2,753 Very large	&	7.8%	5.1%	>>>>	319 Very High
Peoria-Bloomington Area	3,009 Very large	&	4.1%	1.3%	>>>>	331 Very High
Quincy-Macomb-Galesburg Area	1,996 Very large	&	2.1%	-1.6%	>>>>	213 Very High
Rock Island-Moline Area	1,706 Very large	&	1.1%	1.8%	>>>>	180 Very High
Rockford Area	2,468 Very large	&	4.9%	2.4%	>>>>	274 Very High
Shawnee National Forest Area	685 Very large	&	1.0%	-0.3%	>>>>	72 High
Springfield Area	1,260 Very large	&	2.7%	-0.8%	>>>>	136 High
St Louis-Belleville Area	2,430 Very large	&	1.2%	0.2%	>>>>	257 Very High
Vermilion County	505 Very large	&	-8.7%	-5.1%	>>>>	46 High
Will County	7,099 Very large	&	8.7%	5.4%	>>>>	831 Very High
United States	2,235,100 Very large	&	4.0%	3.1%	>>>>	237,600 Very High