Post-Covid Hiring Surge Cools: U.S. Airlines Pump the Brakes After Onboarding 194,000 Employees

In the immediate aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, the U.S. airline industry sought to bounce back aggressively, adding an impressive 194,000 staff members across various departments. This remarkable move indicates the strong resurgence of an industry that was significantly paralyzed by undesirable travel restrictions. However, reports suggest that the rate of hiring in the U.S. airline industry is now cooling off, a reality that can be attributed to a variety of factors. The employment boom in the U.S. airline industry came at a time when the American economy had started to recover from the pandemic’s crippling effects. The hiring spree was largely spurred by the rekindling of domestic travel and resumed international travel. The resurgence of the travel demand was powered by several factors including an efficient vaccination rollout, pent-up wanderlust, and business requirements which allowed airlines to get back in action. The heavily-hit industry’s hiring spree brought jobs back to flight attendants, pilots, customer service personnel, and myriad other roles that had been eliminated or suspended during the height of the pandemic. Notably, this was not only a way to reciprocate the return in passenger demand but was also a strategic move to position these airlines for long-term industry recovery. Despite the aggressive recruitment bid, the U.S. airline industry has recently started to cool off from its hiring spree. A multitude of reasons explains this shift in employment dynamics. For one, many airlines overshot their hiring targets during the post-Covid spree, and they now have the staff they need to match passenger demand. The surge in coronavirus cases due to the Delta variant has also led to softened travel demand, in particular at the international level, implying that there’s no longer a pressing need for additional staff. Airlines have had to navigate a host of other challenges, adding to restrained hiring. The global supply chain crisis and sky-high fuel prices are denting the profitability of airlines, forcing them to tread cautiously in their operations, including hiring. In addition, persistent labor shortages in many parts of the U.S. economy have made it challenging for airlines to find qualified personnel, leading to decreased hiring. Furthermore, the emergence of enhanced self-service technology and digital transformation in the airline industry also contributed to the cooled hiring. With the acceleration of online check-in tools, self-service kiosks, and Internet of Things (IoT) for baggage handling, the need for additional manpower in some of these areas is declining. Moving forward, it’s reasonable to expect that airlines are likely