Full-time airline employment figures continue to decline

Amidst the economic downturn, many industries were forced to slash a number of employees in order to stay out of the red. The aviation industry has been no exception to this trend.

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics reveals that passenger airline employment dropped 2.3 percent in July of this year compared to the same month in 2009. Across all industries, the unemployment rate continues to hover around 10 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Those looking for work in the aviation industry may want to scope out low-cost airlines. Employment actually increased for such carriers by 1.5 percent between July of 2009 and 2010. Frontier Airlines, Allegian Air, Virgin America, Spring Airlines and JetBlue Airways all reported an increase in full-time employees. Southwest and AirTran, however, reportedly decreased the number of full-time staff.

Overall, data shows that year over year, the number of full-time employees for airlines has decreased by anywhere from 2.3 percent to as much as 4.1 percent. While the decrease in employment figures may seem high, the numbers are actually lower than they were between 2008 and 2009 where as much as a 6.8 percent decline was reported.

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