Airlines continue to trim payroll

Air carriers have recently seen an increase in traffic and improved operating margins, but they continue to shed jobs.

U.S. scheduled passenger airlines employed 3.7 percent fewer workers in Oct. 2009 than in Oct. 2008, the 16th consecutive decrease in full-time equivalent employee (FTE) levels for the scheduled passenger carriers from the same month of the previous year, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reports.

BTS reports that the October FTE total of 379,800 for the scheduled passenger carriers was 14,400 below Oct. 2008 and the lowest total for any month since 1993.