From what we hear from the US Department of Education, and repeated frequently in the national media, about 2.2 million new teachers will be needed to fill swelling classrooms vacated by retiring teachers by the end of the decade. Some reports point not to a shortage, but rather a distribution problem . Many states produce more teachers than they need in non-shortage areas, but have emergency needs in other subjects. The blame varies, by who is pointing the finger, from universities promoting teachers training programs in surplus credential areas, to state accrediting agencies. Some reporters have argued that the statistics used are flawed, and that calls for a shortage only serve the universities who turn out about 100,000 newly-minted bachelor's degrees each year.
Teachers are also relatively geographically inflexible in their job search.
Part of this may be related to the percentage of teachers who are women, and therefore possibly the secondary wage earner in their family. This would make relocation more difficult. Those with the highest college-entrance exam scores. There is no doubt that some subject areas are in higher demand than others. Recent articles have also pointed to a growing national shortage of school principals.