Stevedores

The employment outlook for stevedoring workers varies by profession, but, in general, it is expected to be weak in coming years—although certain large ports will experience growth and require larger numbers of specialized workers. The coronavirus pandemic impeded the cargo shipping industry earlier in 2020, due to lockdowns in various countries. Stevedores, however, are deemed essential workers and continue to be needed to work at ports, particularly as lockdowns ease and the demand for shipments increases.

In general, employment of crane and tower operators in water transportation is projected to grow by 5 percent through 2028, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, about as fast the average for all careers. Global shipping volume is increasing, and operators will be needed to load and unload large cargo ships. Employment of hoist and winch operators in water transportation is projected to decline by 3 percent through 2028.

A number of factors are contributing to a lack of growth for many longshore occupations, including increased automation and containerization, and the combining of jobs in the industry. Increasing retirement among union members will assure a certain number of new jobs each year. Also, to remedy labor disagreement problems at smaller ports, union officials have devised a travel plan for longshore workers in smaller ports who have decided to work at bigger ports whenever positions are available.

The trends toward automated materials-handling processes and containerizing cargo are well established. In the future, fewer people may be hired for manual loading and unloading tasks, and the stevedoring workforce will probably be highly skilled, well trained, and will consist mostly of full-time workers.