From the original article "Wyoming Public Education Industry (K-12): Aging Employment in the Wyoming Education System," written by Lee Saathoff (Wyoming Labor Force Trends, October 1997).
This article focuses on the potential career opportunities within the public education sector(1) of the Wyoming education system. The public education sector covers the whole state and affects every community in the state. It also accounts for about 10% of Wyoming’s total covered employment.
A comparison of the age distributions between public education and the state as a whole shows some definite contrasts. The mean (average) age for all workers covered by unemployment insurance in 1995 was 37.9 years, the median (middle) age was 37 years, and the mode (most common) was 39 years. However, the mean, median, and mode for those working in public education (K - 12) in 1995 was 41.9 years, 42 years, and 43 years, respectively (see Table 1).
These figures show that the education sector is older than the state working population total. We also see that the age distributions are quite different between public education and the state (see Table 2).
The age distributions for school employees is skewed heavily toward the middle age group, those 37 - 50 years old in 1996. What does this mean for those seeking careers in the Wyoming education system?
Table 2 shows that the education system has a disproportionate number of workers in the age ranges 35-44 (Education 33.8%, Wyoming 27.9%) and 45-54 (Education 28.2% & Wyoming 17.8%) compared to the Wyoming employment. The highest number (9,970 or 48.5%) of public school employees in 1996 falls in the age range 37 to 50.
Since 1982, the level of school enrollment has not changed dramatically. There have been minor fluctuations, as in the late eighties, but nothing like the increase in the late seventies and early eighties. This leveling of school enrollments has caused the employment needs to level off. Therefore, the primary source of job openings in education are replacement openings and not growth openings. Replacement openings are openings created when an employee is fired, retires, quits, or dies. Replacement openings due to retirement seem to be the primary form of openings and will continue to be as long as there is not an increase in school enrollment. The retirement cycle will have a positive impact on those seeking entry into the Wyoming education system. In five years, an above normal retirement cycle should begin. This retirement cycle is caused by the 37 - 50 age group reaching the retirement age. In 2002, this group will be 43 - 56 years old. Aging/retirement will continue and reach a peak between the years 2005 - 2015. This retirement process will mean numerous additional replacement openings compared to the current levels.
The Wyoming public education system shows an overall aging of employees. This aging is going to be a major factor in this industry starting in 5 years and continuing for 15 years there after. As these employees reach the common retirement age (55 to 65), there will be many replacement openings created. Assuming that there is not a major downswing in the number of students in the school system, the education sector will be a promising career area for those who are now in their teens.
1 Public Education Sector includes anyone working within public school districts Kindergarten through High School. (i.e. teachers, bus drivers, janitors, administrators, etc). It does not include privately run schools.
As the school year is coming to a close, there have been numerous reports on the state of the education system both on the national and state levels. Statistics show that the number of students is increasing nationally and a possible shortage of teachers could occur in the near future. Due to these factors, there are concerns about teacher shortages and a host of other topics.
Table 1: Wyoming Covered Employment in 1995 Age Number of Workers Mean Median Mode Education 20,144 41.9 42 43 All Others 192,372 37.5 37 38 Total 212,516 37.9 37 39 Table 2: Public Education Employees Compared to All Other Employees in Wyoming in 1995 Public Education Employees All Other Employees Total Employees Age Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent 16 - 19 627 3.1% 15,351 8.0% 15,978 7.5% 20 - 24 885 4.4% 23,336 12.1% 24,221 11.4% 25 - 34 3,469 17.2% 44,874 23.3% 48,343 22.7% 35 - 44 6,801 33.8% 53,686 27.9% 60,487 28.5% 45 - 54 5,680 28.2% 34,315 17.8% 39,995 18.8% 55 - 64 2,303 11.4% 15,594 8.1% 17,897 8.4% 65+ 379 1.9% 5,216 2.7% 5,595 2.6% Total 20,144 100.0% 192,372 100.0% 212,516 100.0% *Missing 2,289 65,176 67,465
These pages designed by Gayle C. Edlin.
Last modified on April 15, 1998 by Gayle C. Edlin.