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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

Passenger Airline Employment

Legacy ID
336
Show Effective Date
On
Significant Regulatory Guidance
No
Subscribe to Passenger Airline Employment

Mid-June Airline Employment Up 2,000 from Mid-May

U.S. airlines employed 699,683 workers in the middle of June 2020, 2,446 more than in mid-May 2020 and 53,602 fewer than in March 2020. The June 2020 numbers consist of 508,688 full-time and 111,075 part-time workers.

Mid-May 2020 U.S. Passenger Airline Employment Down 18,000 FTEs from Mid-April

The 23 U.S. scheduled passenger airlines employed 4.1% fewer full-time equivalents (FTEs) in mid-May 2020 than in mid-April 2020:

  • Mid-May’s total number of FTEs (411,651) was down almost 18,000 FTEs from mid-April 2020 (429,407 FTEs) and down more than 48,000 FTEs from mid-March 2020.  It was the lowest FTE total for any month since May 2016 (410,338 FTEs).
  • Mid-May 2020 FTEs were down more than 36,000 FTEs, down 8.1%, from May 2019 (447,981 FTEs).  

 

Regulations require U.S. airlines to report employment numbers for employees who worked or received pay for any part of the pay period(s) ending nearest the 15th day of the month. U.S. airline employment reports are filed monthly with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. See the tables that accompany this release on the BTS website for detailed data since 2015 (Tables 1-15) and industry summary data since 1990.

 

Mid-May Airline Employment Down 20,000 from Mid-April

U.S. airlines employed 696,534 workers in the middle of May 2020, 20,100 fewer than in mid-April 2020 and 42,282 fewer than in May 2019. The May 2020 numbers consist of 588,802 full-time and 107,732 part-time workers

April 2020 U.S. Passenger Airline Employment Data

The 23 U.S. scheduled passenger airlines employed 6.7% fewer full-time equivalents (FTEs) in mid-April 2020 than in mid-March 2020:

  • Mid-April’s total number of FTEs (428,569) was down almost 31,000 workers from mid-March 2020 (459,250 FTEs) and was the lowest FTE total for any month since August 2017 (423,747 FTEs).
  • Mid-April 2020 FTEs were down 4.0% or almost 18,000 FTEs from April 2019 (446,323 FTEs).  
  • April was the first month that U.S. scheduled passenger airline FTEs were lower than the same month of the previous year since April 2013.

Mid-April Airline Employment Down 37,000 from Mid-March

US airlines employed 715,017 workers in the middle of April 2020, almost 37,000 fewer than in mid-March 2020 and almost 21,000 fewer than in April 2019. The April 2020 numbers consist of 604,551 full-time and 110,466 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.

March 2020 U.S. Passenger Airline Employment Data

The 22 U.S. scheduled passenger airlines employed 3.2% more workers in March 2020 than in March 2019:

  • March’s 459,190 full-time equivalents (FTEs) was up 3.2% from February 2020 (458,832 FTEs) and was the highest FTE total for any month since February 2003 (460,852 FTEs).  
  • March was the 77th consecutive month that U.S. scheduled passenger airline FTEs exceeded the same month of the previous year.