US airlines add jobs for 8th straight month; Delta and American grow while United shrinks

The number of jobs at U.S. airlines keeps growing — although slowly — as some of them post record profits.

The U.S. Department of Transportation said Thursday that the nation's passenger airlines employed the equivalent of 386,243 full-time workers in July, up 1.3 percent from the same month last year. It was the eighth straight monthly gain over year-earlier numbers.

The largest employer, United Airlines, cut its workforce 3.3 percent, while Delta, American, Southwest and US Airways added jobs.

Two small, low-cost carriers, Spirit and Allegiant, had double-digit gains. Some regional airlines that operate shorter flights for major carriers cut jobs, including Envoy (American) and Endeavor (Delta), while others grew.

The government counts two part-time employees as one full-time worker.

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Government bulletin: http://bit.ly/1qO0qsK