“I Had To Quit For My Sanity”: Teachers Resigning At Highest Rate Ever Recorded
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Mon, 12/31/2018
Teachers and other public education employees are quitting their jobs at the fastest pace on record after roughly 10% of the industry quit over a 12 month period ending in October, according to data from the Labor Department.
While US workers overall at the highest rate since 2001 amid a tight labor market and historically low unemployment, quitting a job in education is notable since the field is known for stability and rewarding longevity, reports the Wall Street Journal’s Michelle Hackman and Eric Morath.
The educators may be finding new jobs at other schools, or leaving education altogether: The departures come alongside protests this year in six states where teachers in some cases shut down schools over tight budgets, small raises and poor conditions.
In the first 10 months of 2018, public educators quit at an average rate of 83 per 10,000 a month, according to the Labor Department. While that is still well below the rate for American workers overall—231 voluntary departures per 10,000 workers in 2018—it is the highest rate for public educators since such records began in 2001. -WSJ
Sara Jorve, a 43-year-old fifth-grade math and science teacher from Oklahoma, protested alongside other teachers last spring for better pay and classroom conditions – eventually quitting in May after a dozen years as an educator. Jorve, a single mother, said she had to rely on her parents for financial assistance due to the meager pay – though she returned during the summer to become a cardiovascular ultrasound technician.
“I had to quit for my sanity,” said Jorve.
The rising number of departures among public education workers is in contrast with 2009, when the economy was first emerging from a deep recession. Then, the rate was just 48 per 10,000 public education workers, a record low.
“During the recession, education was a safe place to be,” said Julia Pollak, labor economist at ZipRecruiter.
That year, the unemployment rate touched 10%, the highest since the 1980s. This year, the jobless rate fell to 3.7%, the lowest reading since 1969. That has created very different incentives for teachers and their public education colleagues.
“It’s a more boring place now, and they see their friends finding exciting opportunities,” Ms. Pollak said. -WSJ
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