For more than a decade, academics and education policy experts have raised concerns about a widespread shortage of teachers in the United States. The first wave of warnings came in response to the drastic cuts in state and local spending on education following the Great Recession. In this report, the authors use data from a wide range of sources…

Over the last 18 years, Economic Policy Institute has closely tracked trends in teacher pay. Over these nearly two decades, a picture of increasingly alarming trends has emerged. Simply put, teachers are paid less (in weekly wages and total compensation) than their nonteacher college-educated counterparts, and the situation has worsened…

More than a decade and a half of work on the topic has shown there has been a long-trending erosion of teacher wages and compensation relative to other college graduates. Simply put, teachers are paid less (in wages and compensation) than other college-educated workers with similar experience and other characteristics, and this financial penalty…

Teacher strikes in West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Colorado have raised the profile of deteriorating teacher pay as a critical public policy issue. Teachers and parents are protesting cutbacks in education spending and a squeeze on teacher pay that persist well into the economic recovery from the Great Recession.…

Fallout from the Great Recession did a lot of damage to the employment prospects of young adults just entering the workforce after graduating from high school or college--and that damage persisted well into the recovery. In this study, the authors analyze data on recent young college graduates (ages 21-24) to learn about the Class of 2019's…

The members of the high school Class of 2019 who enter the labor market right after graduating have better job prospects than young people who graduated from high school into the aftermath of the recession, a result of the steady (if slow) progression of the economic recovery. This study analyzes data on recent young high school graduates (ages…

Sustained improvements in economic conditions in recent years have brightened young graduates' prospects for employment and wage growth. This report focuses exclusively on those graduating from college. This study analyzes data on recent young college graduates (ages 21-24) to learn about the Class of 2018's economic prospects as they start their…

This study analyzes data on recent young high school graduates (ages 18-21) to learn about the Class of 2018's economic prospects as they start their careers. The report begins by providing a snapshot of the educational attainment of all young adults in this age group (not just graduates) and of all working-age adults (ages 18-64) to provide…

Hispanics now represent 18.1 percent of the U.S. population, making their labor market outcomes an important economic policy issue. A central question for researchers and policymakers is whether the labor market conditions of Hispanics have improved, stayed the same, or deteriorated in recent decades. To help answer this question, this report…

The Great Recession and its aftermath have had long-lasting effects on the employment prospects of young people entering the workforce after graduating from high school or college. Despite officially ending in June 2009, the recession has left millions of people unemployed for extended spells, with recent workforce entrants such as young graduates…

This report describes the results of research into New Jersey public school teacher compensation. The research was initiated in response to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's attacks on New Jersey teachers' unions and his allegations that New Jersey public school teachers are overpaid. This analysis seeks to answer three questions about teacher…

An effective teacher is the most important school-based determinant of education outcomes. Therefore it is crucial that school districts recruit and retain high-quality teachers. This is increasingly challenging given that the supply of teachers has been greatly affected by high early to mid-career turnover rates, annual retirements of longtime…

The Great Recession officially ended in June 2009. However, the labor market has made agonizingly slow progress toward a full recovery, and the slack that remains continues to be devastating for workers of all ages. The weak labor market has been, and continues to be, very tough on young workers. Though the labor market is headed in the right…

Over the past few years, as cash-strapped states and school districts have faced tough budget decisions, spending on teacher compensation has come under the microscope. The underlying question is whether teachers are fairly paid, underpaid, or overpaid. In this forum, two pairs of respected economists offer very different answers. Andrew Biggs of…

When most people think of the perks of teaching, an image that comes to mind is a shiny apple presented by a gap-toothed pupil. A recent paper by Jason Richwine of the Heritage Foundation and Andrew Biggs of the American Enterprise Institute claims that public school teachers enjoy lavish benefits that are more valuable than their base pay and…