Training a Skilled, Technical Workforce
Data and industry economic reports
The following is a library of resources for aviation maintenance workforce data and reports. ATEC aims to keep the information up-to-date, but please check the source to ensure what's linked is the most recent version.
Industry Forecasts & Workforce Outlooks
Airbus
Updated Annually (Typically June)
Long-term forecast of global commercial aircraft demand, fleet development, and replacement/retirement trends over the next 20 years. Widely used by airlines, OEMs, and training organizations to anticipate future aircraft deliveries and the resulting impact on maintenance demand and technician workforce needs.
Airlines for America (A4A)
Economic Impact of US Commercial Aviation
Updated Periodically
Overview of the economic contribution of US commercial aviation, including employment, GDP impact, airline activity levels, and operational performance metrics. Highlights the scale of airline operations, job support, and economic output that the industry generates, providing context for maintenance demand and air transport workforce discussions.
Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA)
Global Fleet and MRO Market Forecast
Updated Annually (Typically Spring)
ARSA’s Global Fleet & MRO Market Forecast provides a comprehensive snapshot of the aviation maintenance industry, including economic impact, workforce trends, and projected maintenance demand worldwide. Developed in collaboration with Oliver Wyman, the report offers executive summaries and key data points to inform industry, education, and policy decisions.
ATEC & Oliver Wyman
Updated Annually (Typically Fall)
ATEC’s Pipeline Report provides a data-driven view of the aviation technician workforce. Produced annually with Oliver Wyman, the report combines FAA data, industry sources, and ATEC’s survey of Part 147 schools to offer insight into the technician pipeline and support workforce planning.
Boeing
Updated Annually (Typically Summer)
Long-term global forecast of aviation workforce demand, including projected needs for aircraft maintenance technicians by region. Widely cited by schools, employers, and policymakers to understand future hiring needs and training capacity requirements.
CAE
Updated Annually (Typically Late Spring / Early Summer)
Global 10-year forecast of civil aviation workforce demand, including projected needs for aircraft maintenance technicians, pilots, cabin crew, and air traffic controllers. Widely used by training organizations and industry stakeholders to understand technician pipeline pressure and retirement trends.
International Air Traffic Association (IATA)
Global Outlook for Air Transport
Updated Semi-Annually (Typically June & December)
Semi-annual industry outlook on global air transport demand, capacity, revenues, and passenger/cargo performance, providing context on recent traffic trends and near-term forecasts for the aviation sector. Useful for understanding broader economic and operational conditions that influence airline activity and maintenance market dynamics.
Government & Regulatory Data
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
The Economic Impact of US Civil Aviation by State
Issued September 2025
State-level analysis of the economic contribution of civil aviation, estimating employment supported, total output, and earnings across all US states and the District of Columbia using 2022 data. Provides geographic context for aviation’s economic footprint to support workforce and regional planning discussions.
The Economic Impact of US Civil Aviation
Issued September 2024
FAA’s national analysis of the economic contribution of US civil aviation, including estimates of total economic output, employment supported, and earnings. Provides broad context on aviation’s role in the national economy that informs discussions about workforce demand and industry growth.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS)
Updated Annually (Typically March; data lags ~1 year)
Federal employment and wage estimates for over 800 occupations at the national, state, and metropolitan levels. Aviation maintenance-related occupations include Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians (49-3011) and Avionics Technicians (49-2091). Frequently used for benchmarking technician employment levels, wage trends, and regional workforce comparisons.
US Government Accountability Office (GAO)
Aviation Workforce: Current and Future Availability of Airline Pilots and Aircraft Mechanics
Published May 17, 2023
The 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act directed the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study the aviation workforce of the future, including the current and future supply of aircraft mechanics. In a report published on May 17, 2023 (GAO-23-105571), GAO found that while the number of newly certificated mechanics grew from 2017 through 2022, it could not make any concrete conclusions about the suspected shortage of aircraft mechanics given the absence of verifiable data on the number of mechanics entering or exiting the aviation industry each year, or the full extent of demand.
GAO made similar findings in two previous reports:
- GAO, Aviation Maintenance: Additional Coordination and Data Could Advance FAA Efforts to Promote a Robust, Diverse Workforce, GAO-20-206 (Washington, D.C.: Feb. 6, 2020).
- Current and Future Availability of Aviation Engineering and Maintenance Professionals, GAO-14-237 (Washington D.C.: Feb. 28, 2014).