Frank Sobotka would not be happy. 

FedEx ($FDX) is dialing back job postings for dockworkers - and boosting hiring for engineers, according to the company's hiring data. 

Our first chart tracks overall hiring at FedEx - it has risen 35% since the end of the second quarter, and a recent high, of nearly 5,000 open roles. There are seasonal trends - but FedEx hiring looks to be far ahead of last year's pace. 

But not every department at FedEx is staffing up - in fact, there are fewer roles posted open for Dockworkers and Handlers, declining more than 40% from their peak earlier this year. It is hiring fewer drivers, too (not shown). This could be due to FedEx losing Amazon ($AMZN) as a shipping client earlier this year, when Amazon sought to take more of its own delivery work in-house. 

Engineers, however, are en vogue at FedEx. The company has nearly doubled postings for engineers, to 69, a recent peak. It is also adding staff in supply chain & logistics (not shown). And that's what might upset The Wire's semi-protagonist of Season Two, dockworker Sobotka - the company is stripping out the blue-collar gigs and turning to tech. But it's also something that should excite both analysts and investors. 

Analysts tracked by Zacks Investment Research are expecting EPS of $3.20 when FedEx reports earnings September 17. The stock is up 6% year-to-date.

As Frank Sobotka once said, we used to build stuff in this country. 

About the Data: 

Thinknum tracks companies using information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales. 

Further Reading: 

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