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Teacher Job Outlook
Employment of preschool, kindergarten, elementary, middle, and secondary
school teachers is projected to grow about as fast as average. Job prospects are
expected to be favorable, with particularly good prospects for teachers in
high-demand fields like math, science, and bilingual education, or in less
desirable urban or rural school districts.
Employment change. Employment of school teachers is expected to
grow by 12 percent between 2006 and
2016, about as fast as the average
for all occupations. However, because of the size of the occupations in this
group, this growth will create 479,000 additional teacher positions, more than
all but a few occupations.
Through 2016, overall student enrollments in elementary, middle, and
secondary schools—a key factor in the demand for teachers—are expected to rise
more slowly than in the past as children of the baby boom generation leave the
school system. This will cause employment of teachers from kindergarten through
the secondary grades to grow as fast as the average. Projected enrollments will
vary by region. Fast-growing States in the South and West—led by Nevada,
Arizona, Texas, and Georgia—will experience the largest enrollment increases.
Enrollments in the Midwest are expected to hold relatively steady, while those
in the Northeast are expected to decline. Teachers who are geographically mobile
and who obtain licensure in more than one subject should have a distinct
advantage in finding a job.
The number of teachers employed is dependent on State and local expenditures
for education and on the enactment of legislation to increase the quality and
scope of public education. At the Federal level, there has been a large increase
in funding for education, particularly for the hiring of qualified teachers in
lower income areas. Also, some States are instituting programs to improve early
childhood education, such as offering full day kindergarten and universal
preschool. These programs, along with projected higher enrollment growth for
preschool age children, will create many new jobs for preschool teachers, which
are expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations.
Job prospects. Job opportunities for teachers over the next 10
years will vary from good to
excellent, depending on the locality, grade level, and subject taught. Most
job openings will result from the need to replace the large number of teachers
who are expected to retire over the 2006-16 period. Also, many beginning
teachers decide to leave teaching for other careers after a year or
two—especially those employed in poor, urban schools—creating additional job
openings for teachers.
The job market for teachers also continues to vary by school location and by
subject taught. Job prospects should be better in inner cities and rural areas
than in suburban districts. Many inner cities—often characterized by
overcrowded, ill-equipped schools and higher-than-average poverty rates—and
rural areas—characterized by their remote location and relatively low
salaries—have difficulty attracting and retaining enough teachers. Currently,
many school districts have difficulty hiring qualified teachers in some subject
areas—most often mathematics, science (especially chemistry and physics),
bilingual education, and foreign languages. Increasing enrollments of
minorities, coupled with a shortage of minority teachers, should cause efforts
to recruit minority teachers to intensify. Also, the number of
non-English-speaking students will continue to grow, creating demand for
bilingual teachers and for those who teach English as a second language.
Qualified vocational teachers also are currently in demand in a variety of
fields at both the middle school and secondary school levels. Specialties that
have an adequate number of qualified teachers include general elementary
education, physical education, and social studies.
The supply of teachers is expected to increase in response to reports of
improved job prospects, better pay, more teacher involvement in school policy,
and greater public interest in education. In addition, more teachers may be
drawn from a reserve pool of career changers, substitute teachers, and teachers
completing alternative certification programs. In recent years, the total number
of bachelor’s and master’s degrees granted in education has been increasing
slowly. But many States have implemented policies that will encourage even more
students to become teachers because of a shortage of teachers in certain
locations and in anticipation of the loss of a number of teachers to retirement.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor,
Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-09 Edition
Find related resources below:
Teacher Income
Teacher Job Outlook
Teacher Training
Teacher Licensing
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