The latest labor data shows a bump in Florida's education sector.
Over the past year, the state added 36,400 jobs, up 2.3%, in the education and health services industry, according to data released in May by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
But the growth is not in public schools.
The data shows that while the state added 1,400 jobs, an increase of 1.6%, in private schools, local government education services lost 5,600 jobs, a decrease of 1.6%.
"This looks like a substitution effect, it's crazy," said Ron Hetrick, the principal economist at job market analysis firm Lightcast.
Andrew Spar, the president of the Florida Education Association, which is a statewide federation representing teachers and education workers, said the numbers don't surprise him.
He said the tipped scales toward private school growth in Florida reflect the impact of recent state policies, like the private school voucher system.
ALSO READ: Sarasota County Schools to cut teachers as vouchers divert millions from district
"When the private sector is being given basically a blank check with no strings attached to it to do whatever, and however, I think that's why we're seeing that uptick," he said.
It costs Florida $4 billion every year to support private education vouchers, according to a report from the Florida Policy Institute. The allocation of public taxpayer dollars drains money from neighborhood public schools to support private and home-school students, the report found.
At the same time, Spar said Florida's public school system is facing job losses due to decreasing student enrollment, rising cost of living and shrinking school district budgets.
While state officials celebrated reduced teacher vacancies at the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year, Spar said it was because districts are consolidating classrooms and cutting programs.
"Districts hired fewer people … because they're increasing class size, they're eliminating advanced placement programs … or music and art programs, and students are suffering because of that," he said. "If we still had all of those programs in our schools then we would see more teacher and staff vacancies."
Spar said districts across the greater Tampa Bay region aren't the exception.
Last month, Sarasota schools cut 136 teaching positions.
ALSO READ: Why job cuts are leaving this Sarasota County school orchestra without a dedicated teacher
Pasco County did the same earlier this month. As the Tampa Bay Times reports, the district is cutting 500 positions in the fall, citing dwindling enrollment, but said no current staff members are losing their jobs.
Meanwhile, Pinellas County, which has the second-highest cost of living in Florida, is seeing a decline in the number of students and teachers in the district.
Gabriella Paul covers the stories of people living paycheck to paycheck in the greater Tampa Bay region for WUSF. Here's how you can share your story with her.
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