Public Funding, Private Work Outcomes: Multiple Job Holding among U.S. K–12 Public School Teachers

Reporting suggests that declining salaries cause high multiple job holding (MJH) among full-time public school teachers in the United States. Studies investigating this relationship assume an individual teacher, neglecting the effects of family characteristics on work behavior. This article examines K–12 public school teachers’ employment patterns for March and July from 2011 to 2019 to test the associations of state-level teacher salaries and familial roles with MJH. In March and July, a teacher’s familial role correlates with MJH in a pattern consistent with persistent work-family divisions: Male teachers, single or married with children, are the most likely to hold another job, and married female teachers with children are the least. These differences increase during the summer break. State-level salaries correlate with MJH only in July. Single male teachers exhibit greater sensitivity to salary changes. This article demonstrates how family characteristics, occupational schedules, and salaries interact and influence MJH.