Apparently, United States airlines employed 3.3 percent fewer workers in December than they did a year earlier, according to figures released by the United States Department of Transportation. US Airways Group, which operates its largest hub at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, saw a 4.6 percent drop in its total employment during 2009. Its workforce totaled 29,900 at the end of the year.

US Airways is the sixth largest employer among the nation’s 10 major carriers. However, its percentage decline in employment was the third largest among the sixth network carriers that lost jobs. When calculating the employment totals, the Transportation Department counts two part-time employees as one full-time worker. Thus, the company may have more people employed, but if they are part-time workers, it takes two of them to equal one full-time worker.

The only carrier that was able to show a net gain in employees from December 2008 to December of 2009 was Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines. This company was able to add personnel when it completed its merger with Northwest Airlines at the end of the year.

American Airlines, however, still has the most employees among the network of carriers. This airline has the full-time equivalent workforce of 66,700 workers. However, the employment did drop by 4.0 percent last year according to the Transportation Department.

December now marks the 18^th consecutive monthly decline in full-time equivalent employee staffing levels nationally. Although the economy is starting to turn back around now, people are still on a tight budget, and it is likely to be like that until the end of the year.