Mid-December Airline Industry Employment Up 16,000 Employees from Mid-November
U.S. airlines employed 694,638 workers in the middle of December 2020, 16,351 more than in mid-November 2020 (678,287) but 60,389 fewer than in March 2020. The December total was the highest since September (702,068) before the expiration of the CARES Act which prohibited layoffs by airlines receiving funds.
American Airlines reported an increase of 10,631 employees in December from November.
The December industry numbers consist of 579,042 full-time and 115,596 part-time workers.
Regulations require airlines to report employment numbers to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics for employees who worked or received pay for any part of the pay period(s) ending nearest the 15th day of the month. Numbers include all paid employees but do not include employees not being paid.
Total employment (full-time + part-time) by U.S. airlines (passenger + cargo carriers):
|
Mar-20
|
Dec-20
|
Change in
Employees
|
Percent
Change
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Alaska
|
17,912
|
16,643
|
-1,269
|
-7.1
|
|
Allegiant
|
4,487
|
4,157
|
-330
|
-7.4
|
|
American
|
109,108
|
101,005
|
-8,103
|
-7.4
|
|
Atlas
|
3,121
|
3,487
|
366
|
11.7
|
|
Delta
|
89,980
|
62,786
|
-27,194
|
-30.2
|
|
Envoy
|
16,781
|
15,380
|
-1,401
|
-8.3
|
|
Federal Express
|
245,010
|
269,625
|
24,615
|
10.0
|
|
Frontier
|
5,181
|
5,011
|
-170
|
-3.3
|
|
Hawaiian
|
7,492
|
5,278
|
-2,214
|
-29.6
|
|
JetBlue
|
21,546
|
18,982
|
-2,564
|
-11.9
|
|
Kalitta
|
2,013
|
2,192
|
179
|
8.9
|
|
Polar Air Cargo
|
226
|
235
|
9
|
4.0
|
|
Republic
|
6,519
|
5,754
|
-765
|
-11.7
|
|
SkyWest
|
20,544
|
19,221
|
-1,323
|
-6.4
|
|
Southwest
|
62,081
|
57,574
|
-4,507
|
-7.3
|
|
Spirit
|
9,213
|
9,175
|
-38
|
-0.4
|
|
United
|
91,563
|
62,585
|
-28,978
|
-31.6
|
| United Parcel Service | 6,279 | 6,461 | 182 | 2.9 |
| Major Airline Total | 719,056 | 665,551 | -53,505 | -7.4 |
Additional individual airline numbers are available on the BTS airline employment web page. The web page provides full-time and part-time employment numbers by carrier by month from 1990 through December 2020.
Reports are from all U.S. airlines including scheduled passenger, charter and cargo that meet the reporting standard. Airlines that operate at least one aircraft that has more than 60 seats or the capacity to carry a payload of passengers, cargo and fuel weighing more than 18,000 pounds must report monthly employment statistics.
The next web update for full-time and part-time employment is scheduled for March 9. The BTS press release on full-time equivalent employment for scheduled passenger airlines through December, with historic comparisons and summary tables will be issued Feb. 18.
-END-