K-12 PUBLIC WORKFORCE

PROFILE
Those working in kindergarten through 12th grade represent 46 percent of the total state and local government workforce.1
This infographic is offered to provide an overview of the workforce data for those employed in public schools. TOTAL STATE AND LOCAL
WORKFORCE
1
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), National Employment Matrix

LOCAL GOVERNMENT EDUCATION BY RACE

WORKFORCE
8,150
12%
White
8,100 8,084 4%
8,050 Black

8,000 Asian
7,987 7,963 Other 18%
7,950 66%
In Thousands

11%
7,900

7,850
of state/local
government
7,800
6.3%
8.4%

employees
are Hispanic
(of any race)
7,750
-1.6%

7,700
Source: EEOC State and Local Government Information (EEO-4), 2015 National Employment Summary.
7,650

7,600
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS
Source: BLS, Employment, Hours, and Earnings from the Current Employment Statistics survey (national; not seasonally adjusted).
BY RACE 2% 2%
K-12 EMPLOYMENT PROJECTIONS
Elementary school teachers 2016
Elementary school teachers 2026
7%
Teacher assistants 2016
Teacher assistants 2026
White 9%
Secondary school teachers 2016 Hispanic
Secondary school teachers 2026 Black
Asian
80%
Other teachers 2016
Other teachers 2026 Other

Middle school teachers 2016

Middle school teachers 2026
0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400 1,600

Local State Private In Thousands

Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Teacher and Principal Survey, 2015-2016.
NOTE: This survey’s methodology differs from the EEOC data in that the NTPS shows a percentage who are Hispanic compared
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) National Employment Matrix to the percentage who are non-Hispanic in each racial category.

PERCENTAGE YEARS OF SERVICE

WHO ARE FEMALE
16

MEDIAN AGE 14 13.7

80% 12
73%
48
70% 45.1
43.4 10
43 41.4

5
60%
54% 8.3 8.2
8
50% 46% 38
PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS

PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS

PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS

LOCAL GOVERNMENT, ALL
STATE GOVERNMENT, ALL

(K-12 AT THEIR CURRENT

6 5.8
LOCAL GOVERNMENT,

40%
LOCAL GOVERNMENT,

33
ALL STATE & LOCAL

ALL STATE & LOCAL

SCHOOL), AVERAGE
EDUCATION ONLY

30%
(K-12), AVERAGE
GOVERNMENT

GOVERNMENT

4
GOVERNMENT,

28
PART-TIME,
FULL-TIME,

20%
MEDIAN

MEDIAN

23 2
STATE
(K-12)

10%

0% 18 0
Source: BLS as of January 2016 and US Dept of Education NTPS 2015-16. NOTE: State and local
Source: EEOC National Employment Summary and BLS, Employment, Hours, and Source: Weighted median, IPUMS CPS Data; US Department of Education NTPS government data shows the median number of years with employee’s current employer. Column 3
Earnings shows average years spent teaching at the current public school. Column 4 shows average years serving
at any public school. Where a teacher is employed by a school district, it is possible they may transfer
among multiple schools or grade levels while still working for the same employer.

SLGE.ORG/WORKFORCE