Half of the city government jobs eliminated since 2002 were from the city education department, according to an analysis by number-crunchers at the Independent Budget Office.
Of 9,028 positions that have been eliminated under Mayor Bloomberg, 4,496 were Department of Education jobs, a 3.3 percent decrease over an 11-year span. The department’s headcount loss represents the largest of any agency, but uniformed services saw their workforces drop at a steeper rate, according to the IBO analysis.
Although the Bloomberg administration threatened teacher layoffs on multiple occasions, none ever came to pass, though other school staff have been laid off as part of budget cuts. Instead, the disappearing education department jobs came through attrition during years of hiring restrictions.