Chicago Education Jobs Cut

Posted on June 16, 2009

Several Chicago education jobs will soon be lost.

Officials at Chicago Public Schools recently announced that they plan to lay off 500 workers within the next few weeks and another 500 workers during the next year. The cuts aren’t expected to affect classrooms, but instead will take place among the 5,300 employees in the school’s management and administrative positions.

According to an article by the Chicago Tribune, the job cuts will help fill a budget deficit estimated to be between $475 million and $600 million. The layoffs could help save up to $100 million.

The cuts came shortly after district CEO Ron Huberman appointed a new management team comprised of seven district employees and nine employees from the Chicago Transit Authority, the Chicago Police Department and Mayor Richard M. Daley‘s staff.

The eliminated positions may come as a surprise to some, as the education industry is one that often continues to thrive, even during a recession. The Chicago-Naperville-Joliet area’s education and health services industry employed 522,200 workers during April, according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is down from 523,200 workers during March, but a 1 percent increase from last year.

The area’s unemployment rate increased from 9.3 percent to 9.9 percent during April. At the same time, the area had a total non-farm employment of 3,682,200 workers during April, up from 3,673,100 workers during March, but a 4.4 percent decrease from last year.

Overall, the State of Illinois‘ education and health services industry employed 802,600 workers during April, down from 802,800 workers during March, but a .9 percent increase from last year.