The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) recently released employment data for U.S. passenger airlines during March, indicating an increase of 3.9 percent in the workforce compared with March 2015.
The report also said March 2016 also saw the highest monthly employment total since August 2008, with full-time employees totaling 406,113.
The BTS said the four network airlines employed approximately 66.1 percent of all full-time employees, regional airlines employed approximately 12.4 percent and low-cost airlines employed 19.7 percent. Other airlines made up the remainder. Top employers by volume consisted of American Airlines among network airlines, Envoy Air among regional airlines and Southwest Airlines among low-cost carriers.
Compared with February, full-time positions increased by 0.5 percent in March. Low-cost carriers saw the greatest increase in hiring, with 9.6 percent over March 2015.
The BTS requires any airline that has at least one plane capable of carrying at least 60 passengers or has a weight above 18,000 pounds to report data monthly.
