U.S. airlines lost 2,783 workers in July 2026, bringing total industry employment to 1,037,936 employees, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
The decline was split between the passenger and cargo sectors. Passenger airlines, which employ 54% of the industry's workforce, lost 1,505 employees to reach 555,559 total workers. Cargo airlines, which account for 46% of total employment, lost 1,293 positions to reach 477,939 workers.
FedEx, the largest air cargo employer, led individual carriers with a 1,448-job reduction. Some carriers added employees: Breeze Aviation Group added 86, SkyWest Airlines added 54, and Republic Airlines added 51.
The July figures represent a 0.27% decline from June employment. Full-time equivalent employment—calculated by counting part-time workers as half an employee—dropped to 892,991 in July, down 2,289 from June. The industry employed 748,045 full-time and 289,891 part-time workers.