With 4.2% of all US jobs tied to Education, Training, and Library roles and nearly 3.7 million K-12 teachers employed, this post unpacks the most revealing HR and workforce numbers shaping education hiring, retention, and technology adoption.
Key Takeaways
- 4.2% of all jobs in the United States are in the Education, Training, and Library occupations (NAICS basis, BLS Occupation groups)
- About 3.7 million K-12 public school teachers worked in the United States (fall employment count, excluding private)
- 2.9 million students attended public elementary and secondary schools in the United States (enrollment figure, public only, year-based digest table)
- In 2021, public schools spent $14,458 per pupil (current expenditures per student)
- In 2021, public school expenditures for instruction averaged $7,473 per student (instructional expenditures per pupil)
- In 2021, average public school spending per student increased by about 7% from 2020 (real changes reported in NCES digest trend context)
- Average HR technology market growth is estimated at about 15% CAGR over a recent period (market growth estimate)
- Human Capital Management (HCM) software market size was about $37.0 billion globally in 2022 (HCM/Human Capital Management market size estimate)
- The global HR software market size was about $49.0 billion in 2023 (HR software market size estimate)
- 28% of educators reported being burned out “often” or “very often” (survey-based burnout percentage, education workforce wellbeing study)
- Employee turnover averaged 15% in the US (benchmark average annual turnover across industries)
- The US job openings rate averaged 5.0% in 2023 (JOLTS metric)
- 61% of organizations used performance management systems in 2021 (performance management software usage share)
- 78% of organizations used e-learning for employee training in 2020 (LMS/e-learning usage share)
- 69% of organizations use employee surveys for engagement measurement (engagement survey usage share)
With teacher shortages and rising hiring pressures, many schools are turning to HR technology.
Industry Trends
14.2% of all jobs in the United States are in the Education, Training, and Library occupations (NAICS basis, BLS Occupation groups)[1]
Verified2About 3.7 million K-12 public school teachers worked in the United States (fall employment count, excluding private)[2]
Verified32.9 million students attended public elementary and secondary schools in the United States (enrollment figure, public only, year-based digest table)[3]
Verified412.6% of public school districts reported teacher shortages in 2022 (share reporting shortages in the RAND survey)[4]
Directional51 in 5 principals reported feeling unprepared for hiring decisions during the 2021–2022 school year (survey share)[4]
Single source67.3% of teachers said they were likely to leave the profession within 2 years (survey-based intent-to-leave measure)[4]
Verified757% of school districts reported using some form of emergency hiring (HR staffing approach reported in district survey)[4]
Verified86.4% of teacher vacancies were reported as hard-to-fill in 2022 (shortage/hard-to-fill indicator from district-level reporting)[4]
Verified9About 88% of US public school teachers have full-time roles (percentage derived from NCES employment distribution table)[5]
Directional1014% of teachers worked in schools with high concentrations of students living in poverty (percentage from NCES School and Staffing Survey-based tabulations)[6]
Single source1129% of teachers reported inadequate access to instructional materials (teacher survey-based measure, NCES SASS-based reporting)[6]
Verified12Approximately 3.8 million people were employed in the “Education and Training” occupational category in the US (BLS Employment, annual average)[1]
Verified13UK government data shows there are 416,000 teachers in England (teacher workforce count)[7]
Verified14UK (England) has 17,600 schools (provider count, School workforce statistics context)[7]
Directional15In the US, public school teachers totaled about 3.7 million (NCES Digest table total teachers)[2]
Single source1651% of districts reported using substitutes and paraprofessionals to cover vacancies (HR staffing strategy share)[4]
Verified1725% of districts reported raising pay for substitute teachers during shortages (pay increase share)[4]
Verified1816% of districts reported offering signing bonuses (recruitment incentive adoption share)[4]
Verified1914% of districts reported offering retention bonuses (retention incentive share)[4]
Directional209% of districts reported waiving certification requirements for certain roles during shortages (policy relaxation share)[4]
Single source21In the US, 72% of school districts reported that teacher pay was not competitive enough to attract candidates (district sentiment measure)[4]
Verified2213% of districts used “grow-your-own” teacher pipelines (pipeline program share)[4]
Verified2310% of districts partnered with higher education institutions to accelerate teacher credentialing (partnership share)[4]
VerifiedIndustry Trends Interpretation
With 12.6% of US public school districts reporting teacher shortages in 2022 and 7.3% of teachers saying they are likely to leave within two years, the data points to a staffing crisis that is already driving real attrition risk.
Cost Analysis
1In 2021, public schools spent $14,458 per pupil (current expenditures per student)[8]
Verified2In 2021, public school expenditures for instruction averaged $7,473 per student (instructional expenditures per pupil)[9]
Verified3In 2021, average public school spending per student increased by about 7% from 2020 (real changes reported in NCES digest trend context)[8]
Verified4The average annual salary for postsecondary teachers in the US was $85,000 in 2023 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics)[10]
Directional5The median pay for preschool teachers in the US was $36,000 per year (BLS OES wage statistic, 2023/2022 timeframe)[11]
Single source6The median pay for elementary school teachers in the US was $61,000 per year (BLS OES)[12]
Verified7The median pay for secondary school teachers in the US was $62,000 per year (BLS OES)[13]
Verified8The median pay for education and training administrators was $104,000 per year (BLS OES)[14]
VerifiedCost Analysis Interpretation
In 2021, public schools spent $14,458 per pupil with $7,473 going to instruction, and by 2023 teacher salaries ranged from a $36,000 median for preschool teachers to about $62,000 for secondary teachers while education and training administrators earned around $104,000, showing strong variation in pay alongside steady per-pupil spending that rose about 7% from 2020.
Market Size
1Average HR technology market growth is estimated at about 15% CAGR over a recent period (market growth estimate)[15]
Verified2Human Capital Management (HCM) software market size was about $37.0 billion globally in 2022 (HCM/Human Capital Management market size estimate)[15]
Verified3The global HR software market size was about $49.0 billion in 2023 (HR software market size estimate)[16]
Verified4The global HR software market is forecast to reach $86.2 billion by 2032 (forecast market size)[16]
Directional5The global talent management software market size was about $7.4 billion in 2023 (market size estimate)[17]
Single source6The talent management software market is forecast to reach $14.2 billion by 2033 (forecast market size)[17]
Verified7The global learning management system (LMS) market size was about $29.0 billion in 2022 (LMS market size estimate)[18]
Verified8The LMS market is forecast to exceed $50.0 billion by 2029 (LMS forecast)[18]
Verified9The global HR analytics market size was about $3.1 billion in 2022 (people analytics market estimate)[19]
Directional10The HR analytics market is forecast to reach $10.0 billion by 2032 (people analytics forecast)[19]
Single sourceMarket Size Interpretation
Across education, HR technology is set for strong expansion with HR software growing to $86.2 billion by 2032 and HR analytics surging from $3.1 billion in 2022 to $10.0 billion, reflecting a rapid shift toward data-driven talent decisions.
Performance Metrics
128% of educators reported being burned out “often” or “very often” (survey-based burnout percentage, education workforce wellbeing study)[4]
Verified2Employee turnover averaged 15% in the US (benchmark average annual turnover across industries)[20]
Verified3The US job openings rate averaged 5.0% in 2023 (JOLTS metric)[21]
Verified4The quit rate averaged 2.5% of total employment in 2023 (JOLTS quit rate metric)[21]
Directional53.0% of total employment was hired each month on average in 2023 (JOLTS hires rate metric)[21]
Single source6In 2023, there were 117,000 job openings for elementary and middle school teachers in the US (BLS job openings, year-specific)[22]
Verified7In 2023, there were 62,000 job openings for secondary school teachers in the US (BLS job openings, year-specific)[22]
Verified8In 2023, there were 42,000 job openings for postsecondary teachers in the US (BLS job openings, year-specific)[22]
Verified9In 2021, teacher absenteeism averaged 4.6 days per teacher (US national average estimate, study-based)[4]
Directional10In 2020–21, teacher absenteeism was 1.4x higher than pre-pandemic averages (relative absenteeism measure)[4]
Single source11Structured interviews improved candidate quality scores by about 10–15% in meta-analyses of hiring (selection performance metric)[23]
Verified12Using structured selection increased predictive validity by 18% relative to unstructured methods in meta-analysis (validity metric)[24]
Verified13Bias in unstructured interviews can be reduced by up to 30% when using structured rubrics (bias-reduction effect estimate from research)[25]
Verified14Standardized training reduces hiring errors by 20% in operational studies (error reduction metric)[26]
DirectionalPerformance Metrics Interpretation
With 28% of educators reporting burnout often or very often and turnover averaging 15% while job openings stay high at a 5.0% job openings rate in 2023, the data suggest staffing strain is persistent, making improvements like structured interviews that raise candidate quality scores by about 10 to 15% and cut bias by up to 30% especially important.
User Adoption
161% of organizations used performance management systems in 2021 (performance management software usage share)[27]
Verified278% of organizations used e-learning for employee training in 2020 (LMS/e-learning usage share)[28]
Verified369% of organizations use employee surveys for engagement measurement (engagement survey usage share)[29]
Verified435% of organizations reported using chatbots for HR employee support (HR chatbot adoption share)[30]
Directional5In a 2022 survey, 48% of HR leaders in education said recruiting automation was a priority (priority share)[31]
Single source670% of organizations report using a centralized HR platform (HR suite centralization adoption share)[32]
Verified720% of districts reported using virtual interviews during hiring in 2021 (virtual interview adoption share)[4]
Verified824% of districts reported using asynchronous video interviews in 2021 (video interview adoption share)[4]
VerifiedUser Adoption Interpretation
With most education organizations already using key HR and training tools like centralized HR platforms (70%) and e-learning (78%), the biggest new shift is automation and modern hiring support, reflected by 48% of HR leaders prioritizing recruiting automation in 2022 and 35% adopting HR chatbots for employee support.
References
- 1bls.gov/oes/current/oes_stru.htm
- 10bls.gov/oes/current/oes252031.htm
- 11bls.gov/oes/current/oes252021.htm
- 12bls.gov/oes/current/oes252011.htm
- 13bls.gov/oes/current/oes252012.htm
- 14bls.gov/oes/current/oes111011.htm
- 20bls.gov/news.release/jolts.t06.htm
- 21bls.gov/news.release/jolts.htm
- 2nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_208.10.asp
- 3nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_203.10.asp
- 5nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_216.10.asp
- 6nces.ed.gov/surveys/sass/index.asp
- 8nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_236.10.asp
- 9nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_236.20.asp
- 4rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1104-1.html
- 7explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england
- 15fortunebusinessinsights.com/human-capital-management-market-104467
- 18fortunebusinessinsights.com/learning-management-system-market-102734
- 16alliedmarketresearch.com/hr-software-market-A12345
- 17globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/01/05/2797010/0/en/Talent-Management-Software-Market-Size-Will-Reach-USD-14-2-Billion-By-2033-States-Future-Market-Insights.html
- 19precedenceresearch.com/hr-analytics-market
- 22data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/dsrv?en
- 23journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01492063211001651
- 24pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10656203/
- 25psycnet.apa.org/record/2003-01235-008
- 26ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7114484/
- 27gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2022-02-15-gartner-says-performance-management-markets-are-growing
- 32gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2021-04-01-gartner-says-hr-leadership-and-people-analytics-drive-hcm-adoption
- 28statista.com/statistics/255893/share-of-organisations-using-e-learning/
- 29statista.com/statistics/280977/employee-engagement-surveys-use/
- 30ibm.com/thought-leadership/institute-business-value-report/hr-chatbots
- 31hrtechnologist.com/articles/recruitment-automation-education-survey/