According to the latest jobs from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, K-12 schools lost 50,000 workers from June to July. The numbers for May were also revised down by another 47,000.

These are seasonally adjusted numbers. Each year, public schools 鈥渓ose鈥� about 1 million employees who come off the payrolls in the summer months, only to add those workers back in the fall. But the latest numbers suggest that the 2026 decline is a bit larger than normal.

Because of these summer patterns, I like to look at the non-seasonally adjusted numbers. The graph below shows that trend over the last few years. Each line represents one calendar year. The 2020 line is in red. You can see the big drop-off in March when schools shut down for COVID. They no longer needed as many bus drivers and lunch staff, etc. But each year since then payrolls have grown (follow the gray lines upwards).

Now look at the 2026 line, in green. It was trending slightly above 2025 in the spring, but it now sits below the 2025 line. As of July, with no seasonal adjustment, public schools employed about 29,000 fewer workers than they did at this time last year.

Now, these are preliminary figures subject to revisions. But they represent the first year-over-year declines that we鈥檝e seen since the pandemic.

The decline so far is not large in percentage terms. We鈥檙e talking about a decline of 0.4%, and this represents total workers, not full-time equivalents. School districts typically adjust around the margins first, reducing part-time positions or cutting hours before eliminating full-time jobs. These also don鈥檛 represent increases in layoffs鈥攖hose remain stable. Instead, this is mostly about a slowdown in hiring.

This shouldn鈥檛 be entirely surprising. School districts have spent the last two years warning about the end of federal pandemic aid and slower state revenue growth. For a while, many districts have been able to avoid workforce reductions. These latest employment numbers suggest that budget pressures may finally be showing up in the national data.

The other education sectors did not have as big of a change. As I鈥檝e written , the number of state education employees (public higher education) peaked more than a year ago. As a sector, it is down about 25,000 employees from a year ago, a decline of 1.1%.

The private childcare sector is down about 5,000 workers from a year ago, a decline of 0.4%.

Whether the latest numbers mark the beginning of a sustained decline or just a temporary pause will become clearer over time. But the years of uninterrupted staffing growth may be ending.

One of the unique demands of the workforce of the future will be in industries dealing with the impact of climate change. This imperative is squarely on the radar of leaders and educators in Colorado, who are now championing state policies that support youth career development in 鈥済reen鈥� occupations.

社区黑料 recently partnered with the Progressive Policy Institute on a new installment of the 鈥淔uture of High Schools鈥� webinar series, which highlighted the Climatarium initiative of nonprofit group Lyra, which brings together education, industry, and policy partners to build climate-related college and career pathways for Colorado students.

In the replay below, you鈥檒l hear from experts Mary Seawell, CEO and Founder of Lyra, Colorado State Senator Chris Hansen, and Dr. Karen Cheser, Superintendent of Durango School District. Watch the full conversation:

Recent coverage of career pathways and climate education from 社区黑料:

• Creating a Climate-Literate Workforce in Colorado, Starting in Middle School

• Howard: Universal climate education can teach students how to preserve the planet today and train them for the green jobs of tomorrow

• 鈥淭his Is the Existential Crisis鈥�: A Push for Climate Change Education

• 6 Tips for Spotting a High School That Best Prepares Teens for Their Futures