Employment growth for public sector educators lags far behind growth in private industries

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In light of the start of a new school year, this column highlights the state of the U.S. labor market for teachers.

Since the employment recovery began in February 2010, the U.S. economy has added more than 19 million jobs, which would typically put positive upward pressure on wage growth. However, local government education wages have seen no such increase. Though local education employment has almost reached prerecession levels, it falls strikingly behind private sector employment growth. However, the issues underlying the strikes span far beyond teachers’ salaries. Teachers pay out of pocket to provide basic resources for their students and face a labor shortage linked to overall poor working conditions. Despite this, teachers across the country have taken to the streets, the media, and Capitol Hill in order to advocate not just for themselves, but also for an adequately funded education system that can successfully and equitably educate those who need it most.

Since the employment recovery began in February 2010, the U.S. economy has added more than 19 million jobs, which would typically put positive upward pressure on wage growth. However, local government education wages have seen no such increase. Though local education employment has almost reached prerecession levels, it falls strikingly behind private sector employment growth.