Airlines continue upward climb in employment numbers

The Department of Transportation reported last week that passenger airlines had more employees in February 2015 than at any time since August 2012.

The airlines had nearly 389,000 employees in February, nearly 2 percent more than a year earlier. February was the 15th consecutive month that full-time airline employment (FTE) topped the totals for the previous year’s month. The number of FTEs also rose slightly from January to February, following a one-month decline.

United was the top airline employer with 78,380 FTEs in February. Southwest employed the most people -- 46,784 -- among low-cost airlines.