More Los Angeles education jobs were added last month than jobs in any other industry.

During September, the Los Angeles area’s unemployment rate decreased from 12.9 percent to 12.5 percent, following a drop from 13.3 percent during August. Despite the latest decline, the area’s rate is still higher than the national average of 9.6 percent.

The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale area had a total non-farm employment of 3,731,900 workers during September, which is up from 3,720,300 workers during August and only a 1 percent decrease from last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The education and health services industry was responsible for the majority of the area’s monthly employment gains, adding 10,600 jobs during September. That was followed by the government industry, which added 5,000 workers. Keep in mind that employers in either of these industries will most likely search through a job seeker’s California public records (Click here).

The professional and business services industry added 4,400 jobs; while the financial activities industry added 1,000 workers; and the information industry added 100 jobs. Employment in the mining and logging industry remained even over the month with 4,200 jobs.

Four industries managed to experience a yearly increase in employment. The information industry added the most workers, growing by 10.3 percent between September 2009 and September 2010, to a current total of 216,800 jobs.

The mining and logging industry increased by 7.7 percent; while the leisure and hospitality industry grew by .8 percent to 385,700 workers; and the education and health services industry increased by .4 percent to 514,300 jobs.

The construction industry lost the most workers over the year, as its workforce decreased by 8.6 percent to 102,600 jobs.

Other industries that saw an over-the-year decrease in employment include:

• Government by 3.7 percent
• Manufacturing by 3.6 percent
• Other services by 2.6 percent
• Trade, transportation and utilities by 1.3 percent
• Professional and business services by .8 percent
• Financial activities by .4 percent

Positions for adult literacy, remedial education, and GED teachers and instructors are among the most necessary and rewarding San Antonio teaching jobs (Click here) available.

These teachers generally work with children or adults who have dropped out of school or need extra help. They typically teach literacy, English as a second language, or prep classes for the General Educational Development test, which is equivalent to a high school diploma. Check out this teacher job description.

It is usually required that applicants for these teaching jobs obtain a bachelor’s degree, although some positions require a master’s degree in adult education or ESOL instruction. In addition, many states require all teachers to have a public school teacher license or license specifically for adult education.

In order to become a licensed teacher in Texas, students must be at least 18-years old, undergo specialized training and education, and pass a written competency test from the Texas Examinations of Educator Standards. Most employers will further require you to partake in a Texas background check.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were about 96,000 adult literacy and remedial education teachers throughout the country during 2008, and that number is expected to grow by 15 percent by 2018.

Employment in South Texas – where San Antonio is located – is expected to remain even at about 100 workers during the near future. However, employment throughout Texas is anticipated to increase from 5,850 workers during 2006 to 7,350 workers by 2016, accounting for 1,500 additional jobs and a growth rate of 25.6 percent.

The top industries that employ adult literacy, remedial education, and GED teachers and instructors in the South Texas area, according to the Texas Workforce Commission, include:

• Junior colleges – 30.40 percent
• Elementary and secondary schools – 15.82 percent
• Vocational rehabilitation services – 12.18 percent
• Other schools and instruction – 10.61 percent
• Individual and family services – 4.43 percent
• Local government, except education – 2.57 percent

During 2009, the average wage of these teachers in South Texas was $26.28 per hour, while the average wage of those in Texas was $21.58 per hour and the average wage of those throughout the nation was $24.23 per hour.

As the area’s unemployment rate continued to drop and more jobs were added on a monthly basis, San Antonio teaching jobs saw the second-largest yearly increase in employment, behind only government.

During March, the San Antonio-New Braunfels area’s unemployment rate decreased from 7.4 percent to 7.3 percent, following a decrease from 7.7 percent during February. That decrease keeps the area’s rate below the national average of 9.7 percent.

The San Antonio area had a total non-farm employment of 823,500 workers during March, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 821,400 workers during February, but a 1.8 percent decrease from last year.

Only three industries saw a monthly increase in employment, including: leisure and hospitality by 3,800 jobs; other services by 100 jobs; and government by 700 jobs. Employment in the mining and logging, information and financial activities industries remained even over the month with 3,300 jobs; 18,700 jobs; and 64,800 jobs, respectively.

Four industries managed to see a yearly increase in employment, with government adding the most jobs. The industry employed 162,400 workers during March, up from 161,700 workers during February and a 1.6 percent increase from last year.

The education and health services industry saw the second-largest yearly increase, employing 122,500 workers during March, down from 123,700 workers during February, but a 1 percent increase from March 2009.

Employment in the financial activities industry increased by .6 percent over the year, while employment in the other services industry increased by .3 percent between March 2009 and March 2010.

After months and months of steep construction and and manufacturing declines, the information industry took the biggest hit during March when compared to last year. The industry lost 9.2 percent of its workforce during the 12-month period.

Other industries that saw an over-the-year decrease in employment include:

• Mining and logging by 5.7 percent
• Construction by 8.6 percent
• Manufacturing by 6.6 percent
• Trade, transportation and utilities by 3.4 percent
• Professional and business services by 3.6 percent
• Leisure and hospitality by 1.2 percent

Nashville teaching jobs will be one of the main focuses of a new statewide education initiative.

Gov. Phil Bredesen recently announced creation of the Tennessee Education Innovation Plan, an initiative that includes a range of education-reform proposals designed to spur improvement in the state’s education pipeline, specifically focusing on improving student performance and graduation rates at both the high school and college levels.

The plan is composed of two bills, including the “Tennessee First to the Top Act of 2010,” which will work toward the U.S. Department of Education’s Race to the Top Fund, and the “Complete College Tennessee Act of 2010,” which will focus on improving college completion rates.


“The stars have aligned this year to create opportunities to make significant improvements in public education in Tennessee,” Bredesen said. “When that happens, we’re obligated as public officials to seize the moment. That moment is now.”

The Race to the Top competition will use $4.35 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to create a competitive grant program designed to encourage and reward states that are implementing ambitious plans in four core education reform areas for kindergarten through 12th grade education.

Those four areas include:
1. Recruiting, developing, rewarding and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most.

2. Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to compete in the global economy.

3. Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction.

4. Turning around the lowest-achieving schools.

As part of the effort to complete these goals, the state will work to remove limitations on the use of the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System, a database used for tracking student growth.

“To effectively compete in Race to the Top, we need to unlock the prohibition on effectively using that information to help improve teacher quality and drive change in the classroom,” Bredesen said. “That needs to change. And it takes legislation. The quality of the teacher is so important to a child’s success. Making these changes will move us dramatically toward the goal of improving high school output of our public educational pipeline.”

In addition, the state will work to create an Achievement School District, which will intervene in consistently failing schools; require annual evaluations of teachers and principals; create a 15-member teacher evaluation advisory committee to recommend guidelines and criteria to the Tennessee Board of Education; and allow school systems to create local salary schedules for teachers and principals with state approval.

Based on Bredesen’s talks with a bipartisan group of state lawmakers on how to improve higher education in the state, the Complete College Tennessee Act will propose measures to improve the state’s college-completion rates.

“These strategies are a natural extension of K-12 education reform measures,” Bredesen said. “In fact, Race to the Top places a premium on states that aren’t simply focused on getting kids through high school, but also are looking at college enrollment.”

In addition, the legislation will introduce a new way of funding higher education, replacing the state’s current formula for funding based on enrollment with a formula based on success and outcomes.

The act also will focus on community colleges by expanding common programs and courses to promote consistency and quality across the two-year system; creating a statewide transfer policy; and requiring the Tennessee Board of Regents and University of Tennessee to establish dual-admission and enrollment policies at all two and four-year colleges and universities.

Those considering Los Angeles education jobs have plenty to choose from.

The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale area’s education and health services industry employed 520,200 workers during December 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is down from 520,600 workers during November, but a 1.9 percent increase from December 2008.

Educators in the area can expect to be paid relatively well. According to Salary.com, public school teachers in Los Angeles receive an average pay between $49,339 per year and $65,537 per year.

The majority of the public primary and secondary schools in Los Angeles and the surrounding area are run by the Los Angeles Unified School District, which is the largest school district in the State of California and the second-largest in the nation.

During the 2007-2008 school year, the district had a total enrollment of 694,288 students, according to Wikipedia. The district is home to 219 year-round schools, which account for about 47 percent of all students, as well as 439 traditional schools and 162 magnet schools.

During that same school year, the district employed 45,473 teachers and 38,494 other workers, making the district the second-largest employer in Los Angeles County, behind only the city government.

LAUSD enrolls about one-third of all preschool students in the county and operates nearly as many buses as the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The district also has its own police force, the Los Angeles School Police Department, which was established in 1948.

Unfortunately, LAUSD is often criticized for being underfunded and overcrowded, and having high drop-out and expulsion rates. During 2007, the school district had a 26 percent dropout rate for students in ninth through 12th grade.

Some portions of Los Angeles are run by the Las Virgenes Unified School District, which operates 14 public schools. The Los Angeles County High School for the Arts is run by the Los Angeles County Office of Education.

When it comes to higher-education, there are three public universities in the city, including California State University, Los Angeles; California State University, Northridge; and the University of California, Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Community College District consists of nine campuses, including:

• East Los Angeles College
• Los Angeles City College
• Los Angeles Harbor College
• Los Angeles Mission College
• Los Angeles Pierce College
• Los Angeles Valley College
• Los Angeles Southwest College
• Los Angeles Trade-Technical College
• West Los Angeles College

Private colleges within Los Angeles include:

• American Film Institute Conservatory
• Alliant International University
• American InterContinental University
• American Jewish University
• The American Musical and Dramatic Academy
• Antioch University
• Art Center College of Design
• Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
• Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising
• Los Angeles Film School
• Loyola Marymount University
• Mount St. Mary’s College
• National University of California
• New York Film Academy
• Occidental College
• Otis College of Art and Design
• Southern California Institute of Architecture
• Southwestern Law School
• University of Southern California

Although the local school district is planning to eliminate hundreds of positions, Fort Lauderdale teaching jobs will remain safe, at least for the time being.

Broward County Public Schools recently announced that up to 475 jobs could be cut from the district’s facilities and maintenance divisions. The layoffs are part of the School Board’s attempt to reduce the district’s $1 billion capital budget by $47 million. That budget pays for construction projects, major purchases and the salaries of most people in the facilities and maintenance divisions.

The district is looking at other measures to avoid cutting that many jobs, including selling surplus properties and backing out of design contracts on projects that are still in planning stages. However, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, it is still expected that some people will lose their jobs, regardless of any additional initiatives taken by the district.

Facilities and maintenance division employees will likely be the first to go, because, as the district currently has up to 33,000 empty seats, the U.S. Department of Education will not allow for the building of new schools or classroom additions, meaning fewer construction workers are needed.

The district has reported that no educators, including teachers, teacher’s aides or other staff paid from the $1.9 billion operating budget will be laid off yet, as the board is expecting to discuss cuts to that budget in the coming months.

Some officials are opposing the job cuts, saying the main focus should be saving jobs, not cutting money from the budget.

“This year, we are asking that you need to put our people first, otherwise 475 positions are going to have to be eliminated in order to balance the budget,” Chief Financial Officer Ben Leong said. “That is a huge number of people.”

During 2009, Broward County Public Schools cut its budget and 394 teachers lost their jobs, although many were later rehired. The district also eliminated some electives and extracurricular programs.