Teacher pay falls behind that of other workers over last ten years
August 25, 2004
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Today’s Snapshot is a preview of the upcoming EPI education book, How Does Teacher Pay Compare? Methodological Challenges and Answers.
Snapshot for August 25, 2004
Teacher pay falls behind that of other
workers over last ten years
Maintaining and improving teacher quality has become a broadly
agreed upon priority in school reform. However, a new book by
EPI, How Does Teacher Pay
Compare?, shows that teachers’ weekly wages have fallen
behind those of other workers with similar education and
experience. This increased shortfall in teacher pay will make it
more difficult for schools to maintain and improve the quality of
the teaching workforce.
From 1993 to 2003 the teacher relative wage (how much a teacher earns compared to other similar workers) has declined by 13.0% for male teachers and by 12.5% for female teachers (see figure below). At the same time, teacher fringe benefits, including health insurance and pensions, did not rise faster than that of other professionals. Thus, there were no benefit increases to offset the recent erosion of teachers’ wages relative to their peers.
Today’s Snapshot was written by EPI president Lawrence Mishel.
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