Tens of thousands of teachers nationwide over the past two years have found themselves on the unemployment line along with scores of other government workers, helping to push the country's jobless numbers to their highest levels since the 1980s.

Though most of the job loss in the current recession has taken place in the private sector, a report by the Washington-based Center on Economic and Policy Research shows the public sector did not escape the budget ax. More than 111,000 public-sector jobs were eliminated nationwide since 2008, according to the center, including 40,000 teachers.

In New York, budget deficits at the state and local levels resulted in some 7,000 jobs being slashed in schools across the Empire State. But thanks to the infusion of $1.2 billion in federal stimulus aid, some school districts were able to recall laid-off teachers and hire a limited number of new ones, therefore stemming the overall loss of education jobs.

While the stimulus money prevented deeper cuts in the public work force, New York still loss 9,541 public-sector jobs, and the center's report projects that 48 states will continue to run budget deficits through 2010 - meaning governments will once again face tough decisions regarding the positions and salaries of teachers and other public employees.

To learn more, visit http://www.cepr.net/ or download the full report (PDF).