Continental Airlines has about the most stable employment among the major U.S. carriers, according to numbers out Tuesday that show the industry eliminating jobs as fuel costs bite into earnings.

Staffing at the airline, which has a hub in Cleveland, fell half a percent in August compared with a year earlier, the Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported.

Among the seven biggest airlines, only Alaska Airlines had real employment growth - of 1.9 percent, year to year. US Airways was up almost 58 percent, but the expansion came from its merger with American West Airlines. The rest of the network carriers cut payroll over the 12 months by amounts ranging from 0.8 percent (American) to 2.8 percent (Delta).

Continental also was the only major carrier, with the exception of the newly merged US Airways, that increased employment between 2004 and 2008, gaining 1.9 percent. US Airways was up 24.8 percent.

Northwest Airlines employment plunged 24.7 percent, a reduction of 9,446 full-time workers, and Delta cut 18.4 percent.

Other decreases came at United, down 14.9 percent; American, down 9.2 percent; and Alaska, down 1.7 percent.