According to a May report from the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), the latest employment figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that employment fell 13,000 in December Aerospace employment at the end of 2001 stood at 767,000--down 28,000 from September and 32,000 from year-earlier levels. Despite this, the AIA forecasts that air travel will have a strong recovery next year and the U.S. Dept. of Defense (DoD) FY 2003 budget includes significant increases for procurement and R&D, both of which benefit the aerospace industry.