Trucking jobs took another hit in October, keeping employment growth in the industry in the red for the year.

According to the latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 5,000 trucking jobs were eliminated from the economy in October. This marks the fifth loss for the year as the trucking industry continues to move toward a yearly decline.

David Spencer, vice president of market intelligence at Arrive Logistics, told Land Line that although seasonally adjusted numbers show a loss of 5,000 trucking jobs, non-seasonally adjusted numbers reveal that trucking employment was flat in October.

“This indicates that carriers who are involved with supporting the retail peak season or other seasonal demand, such as food or Christmas trees, may have taken a step back this year from the normal hiring ramp-up and are comfortable handling the seasonal demand surges with the staffing already in place,” he said. “In my eyes, the report shows relative stability for trucking employment amid a faltering-demand environment, or at least expectations for a slower-than-normal peak season. This could be a sign that if seasonal demand outperforms expectations, that we could see greater rate volatility due to a more-constrained-than-usual supply side.”