Teachers Continue to Lose Jobs Amid Government Cuts

State and Local Governments Shedding More Positions Than Any Other Industry

by Erin Scobie on October 7, 2011

The student to teacher ratio in America is going to become more lopsided than ever as teachers across the country continue to be laid off due to budget cuts. State and local governments have laid off more workers than any other industry in the month of September according to the jobs report released on October 7^th. Of those employees laid off, teachers were hit hardest.

According to the report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 103,000 new jobs were created in September. Unfortunately, the number has been inflated by the 45,000 Verizon workers who returned from their strike during the month. The news is still better than had been expected, though, not something to really celebrate. Tig Gilliam of the job-placement company Adecco said about the report, “It’s hard to get too excited even about the positive news. In the long-term we’re still treading water. No one is hiring unless they absolutely have to.”

Many economists say that the country needs to add at least 150,000 jobs per month just to keep up with general population growth.

Local governments in September actually had a net loss of 35,000 jobs, with 24,000 of those jobs coming out of the education sector. One reason for this huge drop stems from the expiration of much of the funding from President Obama’s 2009 stimulus package.

In general, school systems have attempted to trim the size of its teacher population by not rehiring after teachers retire. However, that method can only work for so long. Many young teachers who have not been working long enough to earn a tenured position went into the summer break with a job only to have it stripped from them at the start of the next school year.

Even that hasn’t been enough to meet budgetary constraints, though, as many veteran teachers have also faced lay offs. The amount of out-of-work teachers has meant that what little job openings remain have become highly competitive.

After shedding as many retirees as possible, the New York school districts, facing budget cuts totaling $1.3 billion, have been forced to begin laying off current employees. The lay offs include not only teachers, but janitors, bus drivers, cafeteria workers and other school employees. Dick Ianuzzi, president of the New York State United Teachers Union, said, “This year, there is no room for contraction, which is why you’ll see real people on unemployment lines.”

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