Inflation exacerbates the ‘teacher pay penalty,’ report suggests

The “teacher pay penalty” — the gap between the wages of teachers and similarly educated professionals — hit a record high of 26.4% in 2022, according to an Economic Policy Institute report released Friday, as K-12 Dive reported.

The report illustrates how rising inflation has worsened the wage gap between teachers and other commensurate professionals. This analysis delves into data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Teacher wages remained fairly flat for decades while inflation nearly canceled out the benefits of any raises, EPI found, as K-12 Dive reported. Meanwhile, employees in other sectors saw wages grow over time.

As inflation rose to 8.1% in 2022 — the highest since 1981 — “the buying power of teachers took a big hit, and significant future pay increases will be needed to recoup the large loss,” the report said. 

EPI’s findings come as other research shows low pay driving teachers out of the classroom. Teachers cited low wages as one of the top three reasons they are considering leaving their jobs, according to a RAND Corporation survey published in September.