More U.S. residents will travel during this year's Labor Day holiday, the most since 2008, when the recession put a damper on such jaunts, travel and leisure group AAA said Thursday.
AAA projects that 34.7 million U.S. residents will travel 50 miles or more from home during Labor Day, a 1.3% increase over 2013 numbers.
Nearly 90%, or 30 million, of the travelers will make the journey by car. About 8%, or 2.65 million, will travel by air, a 1% increase over last year.
Gasoline prices at the pump dropped Tuesday to their lowest since Feb. 22, 2011 — and they're likely to fall very close to $3 a gallon by the end of the year, according to AAA.
The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline stood at $3.18 Tuesday, down from $3.24 a week ago and $3.34 a month ago, data from AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge report show.
About one in four U.S. gasoline stations is selling regular gas for less than $3 a gallon, and about 10% of stations are selling it for more than $3.50 a gallon, according to AAA.
The motorist club and leisure travel group said prices have fallen for 10 consecutive weeks and by a total of 41 cents a gallon since Labor Day, which marks the unofficial end of the summer driving season.
Gasoline prices have jumped the most in one day in five months, with the average retail price up nearly 10 cents in a week.
Prices spiked 3.2 cents overnight, the most since mid-February, travel and leisure group AAA said.
There's no relief is in sight. A spokesman for AAA said average prices could increase another 10 cents to 15 cents a gallon as rising gasoline futures prices catch up with consumers at the pump.