Airline Employment Data

Monthly employment figures for U.S. airlines from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

This data comes from BTS Form 41, the monthly financial and statistical reporting system that U.S. air carriers with annual operating revenues above $20 million are required to file with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Employment figures reflect workers on payroll as of the end of each reporting month and include both passenger and cargo carriers. The last 12 months of data are available free on this page. Full historical data back to 1990 and API access are available to subscribers.

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Full Data & API includes: historical data back to 1990 in-app, REST API with monthly updates, and CSV export.

U.S. Airline Employment 1990–Present

Carrier Group Classifications (BTS)

Major—$1B+ annual revenue
National—$100M–$1B annual revenue
Large Regional—$20M–$100M annual revenue
Medium Regional—Under $20M annual revenue
Month:

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data is typically published with a two- to three-month delay.

Note: Starting June 2024, FedEx Ground and FedEx Services merged with FedEx Express to form Federal Express Corporation. As a result of the merger, carrier FX has experienced a significant increase in employee count, increasing the total number of employees in the industry.