U.S. airline industry (passenger and cargo airlines combined) employment increased to 798,850 workers in May 2023, 1,948 (0.24%) more workers than in April 2023 (796,902) and 60,790 (8.24%) more than in pre-pandemic May 2019 (738,060).

U.S. scheduled-service passenger airlines employed 521,853 workers in May 2023 or 66% of the industry-wide total. Passenger airlines added 4,342 employees in May 2023 for a twenty-fifth consecutive month of job growth dating back to May 2021. United Air Lines led scheduled passenger carriers, adding 1,194 employees; American Airlines added 958, and Delta added 954.

U.S. cargo airlines employed 273,113 workers in May 2023, 34% of the industry total. Cargo carriers lost 1,346 employees in May. FedEx, the leading air cargo employer, decreased employment by 1,195 jobs.

U.S. Airline Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs)

BTS calculates FTEs by dividing the number of part-time employees by 2 and adding that figure to the number of full-time employees. The May 2023 industry-wide numbers include 688,176 full-time and 110,674 part-time workers for a total of 743,513 FTEs, an increase from April of 1,907 FTEs (0.26%). May 2023’s total number of FTEs remains just 9.54% above pre-pandemic May 2019’s 678,748 FTEs.

The 26 U.S. scheduled passenger airlines reporting data for May 2023 employed 495,081 FTEs, 4,128 FTEs (0.84%) more than in April 2023. May 2023’s total number of scheduled passenger airline FTEs is 47,136 FTEs (10.52%) above pre-pandemic May 2019. Data by passenger carrier category can be found in the accompanying tables.

U.S. cargo airlines employed 244,601 FTEs in May 2023, down 1,221 FTEs (0.50%) from April 2023. U.S. cargo airlines have increased FTEs by 17,728 (7.81%) since pre-pandemic May 2019.