DUNMORE -- There are almost 9 million people out of work in the U.S. Still, there are employers in one industry saying they have thousands of jobs, but no one to fill them.
The trucking industry nationally and in our area is in desperate need of drivers.
People we talked to say there are tens of thousands of truck driving jobs that need to be filled in the U.S. That pain is felt in our area, too.
Having fewer truck drivers affects all of our lives more than you may think, so the trucking industry is coming up with ways to make do with fewer employees.
When you're out driving on the interstates in our area, it may not feel like there are any fewer tractor trailers, but local trucking companies say more and more of their trucks are parked.
"There's a running joke, people selling class A trucks, if they can sell you 10 trucks, can they give you 10 drivers? I'll buy the trucks today. It's a difficult marketplace to get people who want to work," said Jim Barrett.
Barrett has owned Road Scholar Transport in Dunmore since 1988 and over the past 15 years, has seen his number of drivers drop by almost a quarter. And he's not alone.
Barrett showed us the long list of federal regulations that truck drivers need to meet. Nationally, truck companies think the added pressure of following them turns people off from the job.
The shortage of drivers is only expected to get worse according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. One out of every five trucks you see on the road is driven by someone between the ages of 55 and 65.
"You have the baby boomers retiring. The Gen X'ers, they're just not interested in doing over the road or truck driving work. And the millennials? Their base of interest is far, far different than the baby boomers," said Barrett.
"This is just my opinion, but I think they have gotten a lot lazier. They aren't willing to do what it takes," said Mike Smith from Fulton, New York.
Smith, who was driving through on his way back to New York, says the company he works for can't recruit those younger people. And it may be because of the personal sacrifices.
"I've been driving, this is my 15th year of driving."
Donna Elmore is one of Road Scholar's only female drivers. She leaves her grandkids in Michigan for weeks at a time to work. She, too, has seen the truck driving ranks diminish and she also knows the consequences.
"Without the trucking industry, nothing will get moved. So, we will have nothing without the trucking industry moving it for us."
Road Scholar says they try to attract more drivers by adjusting schedules to make them more desirable. Also, trucking companies around the country are trying to fill the gap with technology, experimenting with driverless trucks. That, of course, is years down the road.
