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Institute of Education Sciences

Public State and Local Education Job Openings, Hires, and Separations for December 2021

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS),1 conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), provides monthly estimates of job openings, hires, and total separations (quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations) for major industry sectors, including education. BLS JOLTS data and other survey data can be used to track the recovery of the labor market since the spring of 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic resulted in job losses on a scale not seen since the Great Depression.2

This analysis is the first in a of series of analyses of the public state and local education industry3 during the 2021–22 school year. This industry includes all persons employed by public elementary and secondary school systems and postsecondary institutions, including a variety of occupations, such as teachers and instructional aides, administrators and other professional staff, support staff, maintenance personnel, cafeteria workers, and transportation workers.4 The JOLTS data are tabulated at this sector level and do not permit separate detailed analyses at the elementary and secondary level or at the postsecondary level. To put the scope of this group in context, 48 percent of the staff employed by public elementary and secondary school systems were teachers, and 37 percent of full-time-equivalent (FTE) postsecondary staff within public degree-granting institutions were instructional faculty in 2019.5

This snapshot is focused on the December 2021 reporting period. To provide context for this period, estimates will be compared with the previous month’s estimates, as well as with December 2019 (before the pandemic) and December 2020. Subsequent analysis will review the cumulative change from July 2021 through June 2022.

Overview of December 2021 Estimates

The number of job openings in public state and local education was 320,000 on the last business day of December 2021, which was higher than in December 2019 or December 2020 (table 1). In percentage terms, 2.9 percent of jobs had openings in December 2021, which was higher than 2.0 percent in December 2019 and 1.9 percent in December 2020. This suggests a greater need for public state and local education employees in December 2021 than in December 2019 or December 2020. Additionally, the number of separations6 (126,000) in December 2021 exceeded the total number of hires (91,000), indicating a net decrease in the number of public state and local education employees from the number in the month before. The number of job openings at the end of December 2021 (320,000) was 3.5 times larger than the number of staff actually hired that month (91,000). This December 2021 ratio of openings to hires was higher than the ratio in December 2020 (2.9) and the ratio in December 2019 (2.6).

Hiring in the education sector happens on a cyclical basis with the academic calendar, meaning that patterns will differ between months.7 November 2021 data are also provided in table 1 to provide a sense of the month-to-month change in employment data. In November 2021, the number of job openings outpaced the number of hires by a margin of 167,000 positions, representing a ratio of job openings to hires of 2.3. 


Table 1. Public state and local education job openings, hires, and separations: 2019, 2020, and 2021

Table showing public state and local education job openings, hires, and separations (layoffs and discharges, other separations, and quits)in 2019, 2020, and 2021

---Not available.
NOTE: Data are not seasonally adjusted. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), 2019, 2020, and 2021, based on data downloaded March 15, 2022.


Net Change in Employment

JOLTS data show the relationships of hires and separations throughout business cycles. Net employment changes result from the relationship between hires and separations. When the number of hires exceeds the number of separations, employment rises—even if the number of hires is steady or declining. Conversely, when the number of hires is less than the number of separations, employment declines—even if the number of hires is steady or rising. During the 2021 calendar year, hires for state and local education totaled 2,075,000. The number of separations was estimated at 1,622,000 (including 1,009,000 quits). Taken together, the public state and local education sector in 2021 experienced a net employment gain of 453,000. In contrast, there was a net employment loss of 787,000 in 2020, resulting from 1,647,000 hires and 2,434,000 separations. These totals include workers who may have been hired and separated more than once during the year. Annual net gains and losses indicate the importance of being able to consider multiple years of data when studying the overall staffing situation in our education system. The net employment gain in 2021 does not erase the larger net loss experienced in 2020.

Figure 1 shows the cyclical nature of state and local government education employee job openings, hires, and separations. The percentages in the figure reflect the number of job openings, hires, and separations during the month relative to the total employment in the state and local government education industry. In general, separations and hiring are higher in the summer and lower in the winter. Both trends reflect the school fiscal year (July through June).


Figure 1. Monthly percentage of job openings, hires, and separations for the state and local government education industry: January 2019 to December 2021

Line graph showing monthly percentage of job openings, hires, and separations for the state and local government education industry in January, June, and December 2019, June and December 2020, and June and December 2021

NOTE: Data are not seasonally adjusted.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), 2019, 2020, and 2021, based on data downloaded March 15, 2022.


Public State and Local Education Job Openings

Figure 2 shows the job openings in December 2021 compared with those in December 2019 and December 2020 across different industries. Overall, the total nonfarm job opening rate was 6.4 percent in December 2021, which was an increase of 2.3 percentage points over the rate in December 2020. The percentage of public state and local education sector jobs with openings was 2.9 percent (320,000) in December 2021, which was higher than the 2.0 percent (220,000) in December 2019 or 1.9 percent (194,000) in December 2020. The percentage of public state and local education sector job openings in December 2021 was not measurably different from the percentage in November 2021.


Figure 2. Rate of job openings, by major industry: December 2019, December 2020, and December 2021

Scatter plot showing rate of job openings, by major industry, in December 2019, December 2020, and December 2021

NOTE: Data are not seasonally adjusted.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), 2019, 2020, and 2021, based on data downloaded March 17, 2022.


Public State and Local Education Hires

Figure 3 shows hires across major industries as a percentage of total employment. Overall, the total nonfarm hire rate was 3.2 percent in December 2021, which was 0.3 percentage points higher than the rate in December 2020. The percentage of public state and local education sector hires was 0.9 percent (91,000) in December 2021, which was not measurably different from the number or rate in either December 2019 or December 2020. The percentage of public state and local education sector hires in December 2021 was lower than the 1.2 percent in November 2021 (133,000).

The gaps between hires and job openings in the public education sector were larger in December 2021 than in 2019 or 2020, due to a larger number of openings in December 2021. In December 2021, the gap between the rates of job openings and hires in education was 2.0 percentage points, compared with 1.2 in both December 2019 and December 2020.


Figure 3. Rate of hires, by major industry: December 2019, December 2020, and December 2021

Scatter plot showing rate of hires, by major industry, in December 2019, December 2020, and December 2021

NOTE: Data are not seasonally adjusted.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), 2019, 2020, and 2021, based on data downloaded March 17, 2022.


Public State and Local Education Total Separations

Total separations include quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. Quits are generally voluntary separations initiated by the employee. Therefore, the quit rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or ability to leave jobs. Layoffs and discharges are involuntary separations initiated by the employer. The other separations category includes separations due to retirement, death, disability, and transfers to other locations of the same firm.

Total separations for the public state and local education industry were 126,000, or 1.2 percent, in December 2021 (figure 4). Quits accounted for 59 percent of all separations for state and local education employees in December 2021. The quit rate was 0.7 percent for December 2021, which was about 0.2 percentage points higher than in December 2020, but not measurably different from the rate in December 2019. Quit rates for public state and local education employees were consistently lower than for private sector employees.8 For example, in December 2021 the total private sector quit rate was 2.8 percent.


Figure 4. Rate of total separations, by major industry: December 2019, December 2020, and December 2021

Scatter plot showing rate of total separations, by major industry, in December 2019, December 2020, and December 2021

NOTE: Data are not seasonally adjusted.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), 2019, 2020, and 2021, based on data downloaded March 17, 2022.


Taken together, the data show that in recent years there generally have been fewer separations in the public education industry compared with other industries. The December 2021 separation rate for state and local education employees of 1.2 percent was higher than the November 2021 separation rate of 0.9 percent. Nevertheless, the separation rate for the state and local education industry was lower than for all other industries in December 2021.

At 2.9 percent, state and local education had the lowest percentage of jobs with openings in December 2021. However, that does not mean that staffing shortages were not a factor in the state and local education industry (figure 5). The ratio of job openings to hires for state and local education (3.5) in December 2021 is well above the average for all industries (2.1), indicating a high demand for employees in this industry and relative difficulty of filling available slots. The only industries with higher openings-to-hires ratios were the federal government (3.9) and state and local government, excluding education (5.6). Thus, while the openings-to-hires ratio was relatively higher for the state and local education industry, it was lower than the ratio for the federal government and for state and local government, excluding education.


Figure 5. Ratio of job openings to hires, by major industry: December 2021

Horizontal bar chart showing ratio of job openings to hires, by major industry, in December 2021

NOTE: Data are not seasonally adjusted.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), 2021, based on data downloaded March 17, 2022.


To understand the cumulative status of the employment situation at the end of the school year, we intend to provide an update of our analyses as these data become available.

Learn more about JOLTS and access additional data on job openings, hires, and separations. Be sure to follow NCES on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube to stay informed.

 

By Josue DeLaRosa, NCES


[1] For a discussion on the reliability of the estimates, please see Job Openings and Labor Turnover Technical Note - 2022 M01 Results (bls.gov).

[2] U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, “How Did Employment Change During the COVID-19 pandemic? Evidence From a New BLS Survey Supplement,” downloaded March 18, 2022, from https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-11/how-did-employment-change-during-the-covid-19-pandemic.htm; and “As the COVID-19 Pandemic Affects the Nation, Hires and Turnover Reach Record Highs in 2020,” downloaded March 18, 2022, from https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2021/article/as-the-covid-19-pandemic-affects-the-nation-hires-and-turnover-reach-record-highs-in-2020.htm.

[3] JOLTS refers to this industry as state and local government education and uses ID 92.

[4] JOLTS does not collect occupation data.

[5] U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics, table 213.10, downloaded March 30, 2022, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d21/tables/dt21_213.10.asp?current=yes, and table 314.10, downloaded March 30, 2022, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d20/tables/dt20_314.10.asp?current=yes.

[6] Separations include all separations from the payroll during the entire reference month and are reported by type of separation: quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations.

[7] Engel, M. (2012). The Timing of Teacher Hires and Teacher Qualifications: Is There an Association? Teachers College Record, 114(12): 1–29.

[8] The private sector includes all nonfarm employees except federal employment and state and local government employment.                                                           

Announcing the Condition of Education 2020 Release

NCES is pleased to present The Condition of Education 2020, an annual report mandated by the U.S. Congress that summarizes the latest data on education in the United States. This report uses data from across the center and from other sources and is designed to help policymakers and the public monitor educational progress. This year’s report includes 47 indicators on topics ranging from prekindergarten through postsecondary education, as well as labor force outcomes and international comparisons.

The data show that 50.7 million students were enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools (prekindergarten through grade 12) and approximately 5.7 million students were enrolled in private elementary and secondary schools in fall 2017, the most recent year for which data were available. In school year 2017–18, some 85 percent of public high school students graduated on time with a regular diploma. This rate was similar to the previous year’s rate. About 2.2 million, or 69 percent, of those who completed high school in 2018, enrolled in college that fall. Meanwhile, the status dropout rate, or the percentage of 16- to 24-year-olds who were not enrolled in school and did not have a high school diploma or its equivalent, was 5.3 percent in 2018.

Total undergraduate enrollment in degree-granting postsecondary institutions in 2018 stood at 16.6 million students. The average net price of college for first-time, full-time undergraduates attending 4-year institutions was $13,700 at public institutions, $27,000 at private nonprofit institutions, and $22,100 at private for-profit institutions (in constant 2018–19 dollars). In the same year, institutions awarded 1.0 million associate’s degrees, 2.0 million bachelor’s degrees, 820,000 master’s degrees, and 184,000 doctor’s degrees.

Ninety-two percent of 25- to 34-year-olds in the United States had a high school diploma or its equivalent in 2018. In comparison, the average rate for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries was 85 percent. Some 49 percent of these individuals in the United States had obtained a postsecondary degree, compared with the OECD average of 44 percent. Similar to previous years, annual median earnings in 2018 were higher for 25- to 34-year-olds with higher levels of education. In 2018, U.S. 25- to 34-year-olds with a bachelor’s or higher degree earned 66 percent more than those with a high school diploma or equivalent.

The Condition of Education includes an Executive Summary, an At a Glance section, a Reader’s Guide, a Glossary, and a Guide to Sources, all of which provide additional background information. Each indicator includes references to the source data tables used to produce the indicator.

As new data are released throughout the year, indicators will be updated and made available on The Condition of Education website

In addition to publishing The Condition of Education, NCES produces a wide range of other reports and datasets designed to help inform policymakers and the public about significant trends and topics in education. More information about the latest activities and releases at NCES may be found on our website or at our social media sites on TwitterFacebook, and LinkedIn.

 

By James L. Woodworth, NCES Commissioner

The High School and Beyond Midlife Study

Over the years, NCES has conducted several longitudinal studies that collect information on a representative cohort of high school students and follow the students’ outcomes through postsecondary education and/or entry into the workforce. These studies have led to important research on the educational trajectories of young adults.

But what happens after that? A recent data collection provides some answers by following up with survey participants later in life.

In 2014–15, the High School and Beyond (HS&B) Midlife Study collected information from a cohort of individuals in their early- to mid-50s, all of whom had first completed an HS&B survey in 1980 when they were in high school. By linking high school survey data with information collected 35 years later, this new collection offers an exciting opportunity to conduct research on the long-term outcomes of education.

Some preliminary research using the HS&B Midlife Study shows that high school and college experiences continue to play important roles in individuals’ lives into midlife.

 

Education (Grodsky and Doren 2015)

  • Between the ages of 28 and 50, a majority of cohort members (61 percent) enrolled in some sort of formal education, and in the process, they earned higher level degrees. By age 50,
     
    • 12 percent had earned a master’s, graduate, or professional degree, compared with 4 percent at age 28.
       
    • 36 percent had earned a bachelor’s or graduate degree, compared with 27 percent at age 28.
       
    • 36 percent had earned only a high school diploma or less, compared with 54 percent at age 28.
       
  • Gaps in educational attainment by gender, race/ethnicity, and parental education observed in early adulthood remained largely unchanged in midlife, with a notable exception:
     
    • A higher proportion of cohort adults whose parents had higher levels of education enrolled in graduate school between the ages of 28 and 50, which may be related to high school academic achievement (e.g., grades, test scores).

 

Labor Force Participation (Bosky 2019)

  • Men and women who took college preparatory math coursework in high school (i.e., Algebra II or higher) had lower unemployment at midlife, even after controlling for whether they completed a bachelor’s degree. In addition,
     
    • Women who earned higher GPAs were employed at higher rates.
       
    • Men who scored higher on math achievement tests were employed at higher rates.
       
  • At midlife, the percentage of workers who held jobs with low pay and/or no health or retirement benefits was higher for women than for men, even among workers with similar levels of educational attainment. This gender gap was smaller among people who had taken advanced math coursework in high school (i.e., Algebra II or above).
     
  • Across levels of education, higher percentages of women than men experienced economic insecurity at midlife, as indicated by their perceived ability to pay for a large unexpected expense in the near-term. The percentage of women experiencing midlife economic insecurity was lower for those with a college degree than for those without a college degree. Also,
     
    • For people without a college degree, higher math achievement test scores were associated with lower rates of economic insecurity, even after controlling for work, health, and family characteristics at midlife.
       
    • A lower percentage of women who had taken college preparatory math coursework in high school were economically insecure at midlife, regardless of whether they had completed a bachelor’s degree.
       
    • A lower percentage of married women than unmarried women were economically insecure. This gap was largest among women without a college degree.

 

Health

  • Adolescents who took coursework that was more advanced in high school reported better health and physical functioning at midlife (Carroll et al. 2017).
     
  • Earning a bachelor’s degree by age 28 predicted body weight at midlife. This relationship differed by sex (Pattison 2019).
     
  • Mortality risk was higher among the following groups:
     
    • People who had not taken college preparatory math coursework in high school.
       
    • People with more frequent absences from high school. (Warren et al. 2017)
       

Survey data from the HS&B Midlife Study are now available for researchers. In order to protect the privacy of survey respondents, the dataset is available only to researchers who have a restricted-use data license. For more information about the survey, visit https://sites.utexas.edu/hsb/, and for more information on the restricted-use data program, visit https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/licenses.asp.  

 

Funding Acknowledgement

The 2014–2015 HS&B Midlife Study was supported by a combination of government and nongovernment sources, including the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (Grant 2012-10-27), the Institute for Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education (Grant R305U140001), and the National Science Foundation (Grants HRD1348527 and HRD1348557). It also benefited from direct funding from NORC at the University of Chicago and support provided by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to the University of Texas at Austin (R24-HD042849), the University of Wisconsin-Madison (P2C-HD047873), and the University of Minnesota (P2C-HH041023).

 

References

Bosky, A.L. (2019). Academic Preparation in High School and Gendered Exposure to Economic Insecurity at Midlife (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/76122/BOSKY-DISSERTATION-2019.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.

Carroll, J.M., Muller, C., Grodsky, E., and Warren, J.R. (2017). Tracking Health Inequalities from High School to Midlife. Social Forces, 96(2): 591–628. doi: 10.1093/sf/sox065.

Grodsky, E., and Doren, C. (2015). Coming in to Focus: Education and Stratification at Midlife. Paper presented at the Invited Lecture at Columbia University, March 26, 2015, New York.

Pattison, E. (2019). Educational Stratification and Obesity in Midlife: Considering the Role of Sex, Social Class, and Race/Ethnicity (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/76097/PATTISON-DISSERTATION-2019.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.

Warren, J.R., Milesi, C., Grigorian, K., Humphries, M., Muller, C., and Grodsky, E. (2017). Do Inferences About Mortality Rates and Disparities Vary by Source of Mortality Information? Annals of Epidemiology, 27(2): 121–127. doi: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2016.11.003.

 

By Chandra Muller, University of Texas at Austin, and Elise Christopher, NCES