School districts across the country continue to struggle to recruit and retain enough school bus drivers, forcing them to compete with other employers for a limited pool of qualified workers despite higher wages.

School bus driver employment remained 9.5% below 2019 levels in August 2025, even as inflation-adjusted hourly wages rose 4.2% over the previous year, according to an Economic Policy Institute analysis. The employment figures are based on 12-month rolling averages of federal survey data.

“The wages are simply too low,” Wething told FOX Business, identifying pay as the primary reason the workforce has not returned to pre-pandemic…

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