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U.S. Cargo and Passenger Airlines Gained 2,207 Jobs in March 2024

Friday, May 10, 2024

BTS 23-24

March 2024 Airline Employment Infographic

U.S. Airline Total Number of Employees (both Full-Time and Part-Time)

U.S. airline industry (passenger and cargo airlines combined) employment increased to 800,259 workers in March 2024, 2,207 (0.28%) more workers than in February 2024 (798,052).

U.S. scheduled-service passenger airlines employed 541,150 workers in March 2024 or 68% of the industry-wide total. Passenger airlines gained 2,043 employees in December 2023. Delta Air Lines led scheduled passenger carriers, adding 845 employees; United Air Lines added 511, and SkyWest added 210.

U.S. cargo airlines employed 254,495 workers in March 2024, 32% of the industry total. Cargo carriers gained 268 employees in March. FedEx, the leading air cargo employer, increased employment by 284 jobs.

Line chart showing total U.S. airline industry employment in March 2022 through March 2024

Revisions: Sky Lease Cargo and Caribbean Sun Airlines, Inc resubmitted data of Feb 2024.

Reporting Notes

Data are compiled from monthly reports filed with BTS by commercial air carriers as of May 6, 2024. Additional airline employment data and previous releases can be found on the BTS website. The month-to-month numbers are not seasonally adjusted.

Passenger, cargo, and charter 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. 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.

See the tables that accompany this release on the BTS website for detailed data (Tables 1-15) and industry summary monthly data since 1990. 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 March 2024.
Missing carriers: AMQ (Ameristar Air Cargo).

The next update for U.S. airline employment is scheduled for Wednesday, June 12, 2024.