U.S. teachers work more hours per year than teachers in other OECD countries: Annual hours worked by primary school teachers, by country, 2018
Country | Primary school teachers |
---|---|
United States | 2,016 |
Chile | 1,962 |
Switzerland | 1,930 |
Japan | 1,891 |
Colombia | 1,800 |
Iceland | 1,800 |
Austria | 1,776 |
Germany | 1,769 |
Sweden | 1,767 |
Latvia | 1,760 |
Norway | 1,688 |
Denmark | 1,680 |
Netherlands | 1,659 |
Hungary | 1,632 |
New Zealand | 1,616 |
France | 1,607 |
Turkey | 1,592 |
Lithuania | 1,584 |
Czech Republic | 1,560 |
Slovak Republic | 1,560 |
Estonia | 1,540 |
Korea, Republic of | 1,520 |
Poland | 1,488 |
Spain | 1,425 |
Scotland | 1,365 |
Portugal | 1,308 |
England | 1,265 |
Israel | 1,235 |
Belgium (French) | 962 |
Notes: Data from multiple sources—including international comparisons—suggest that teachers in the United States are paid less than their college-educated counterparts. These differences persist even after factoring in nonwage benefits and controlling for differences in the length of the work year. Most importantly, the U.S. data show that the earnings of teachers relative to other professions have been in steep and steady decline for at least three decades.
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), “Teachers’ Statutory Teaching and Total Working Time and Average Class Size in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools, by Level of Education and Country: 2017 and 2018,” Education at a Glance, 2019.