Manufacturing, Transportation and Warehousing Once transportation and warehousing are added to manufacturing, truck drivers dominate the picture. CDL-A driver postings outnumber the next four roles combined nearly four to one, and they stay open longer than anything else on the list. Maintenance technicians rank second and take almost as long to fill. Role National postings Avg. days to fill* Demand signal What this means for your hiring CDL-A Truck Drivers (all types) 88,483 22 to 30 days Very high demand Combines regional, local, dedicated, over-the-road, flatbed, and team driver postings. Advertised pay runs about $36 to $44 an hour for most types, so employers with in-house fleets compete on pay, home time, and route consistency. Maintenance Technicians 7,144 25 days Very high demand Posted by more than 2,500 companies, the widest competition on this list. At 25 days, a vacancy runs well past the time most operations can tolerate unplanned downtime. Forklift Operators 5,922 21 days High demand Certified operators move between warehouses for small pay differences. Advertised pay centers around $21 an hour, so offers below that lose candidates quickly. Material Handlers 5,120 20 days High demand Demand is spread across more than 1,700 employers. Clear shift schedules and fast start dates matter more than small differences in pay. Machine Operators 4,839 21 days High demand Operators who can run more than one machine or cover multiple shifts are the hardest to find. Cross-training production workers is a practical way to build this pipeline. Source: Lightcast Q3 2026 Data Set. Unique job postings, United States, June 29 to September 26, 2026, within manufacturing and transportation and warehousing. CDL-A figures combine seven driver job titles. *Median posting duration by job title. PLANNING NOTE Driver and maintenance roles take close to a month to fill in this segment, well beyond the 15-day national median. If your operation depends on either, start recruiting before the need is urgent, and treat pay, schedule, and home time as one offer rather than negotiating each separately.