Tracking the teaching workforce in NB: What’s changed in 2022 and 2023
Author: DataNB
Posted on Jun 30, 2026
Category: DataNB
New Brunswick’s public schools depend on a teaching workforce that can meet the needs of students across the province. In recent years, rising retirements and shifting classroom demands have made it even more important to understand how teachers move into and through the public school system. Back in 2024, DataNB released its first province wide look at these patterns, examining how many Bachelor of Education graduates became teachers, how long teachers stayed in the public school system, and whether they continued to live in NB after leaving the profession.
This new update builds on that earlier work by adding two more years of administrative data. With information from 2022 and 2023 now included, the study offers a clearer and more current picture of how the teaching workforce is changing.
The latest results show that the number of active teachers continued to grow in 2022 and 2023 – in both the Anglophone and Francophone school sectors. Recruitment has strengthened as well, with a rising share of new hires who completed their training outside NB. At the same time, the transition from graduation to teaching remains a key point of focus: only about half of B.Ed. graduates from NB’s public universities go on to work in the province’s public school system, and those who do not enter the system are far more likely to leave NB altogether.
Once teachers are in the system, however, the picture looks different. Attrition remains low, with only a small share of teachers leaving the public school system each year. And even when teachers do exit – whether early in their careers or closer to retirement – most continue to live in the province. This stands in contrast to graduates who never enter the public school system, many of whom move away soon after completing their degree.
Together, these findings highlight how early career transitions can shape long term workforce stability. By updating earlier evidence with the most recent data available, DataNB’s newest study provides timely insight into how NB’s teaching workforce is evolving and where planning efforts may be needed most.