The number of teachers decreased for the second consecutive year
In the autumn of 2010 there were 7,589 staff members working 6,858 full-time equivalent jobs in compulsory schools in Iceland. Thereof 4,886 teaching staff in 4,671 full-time equivalent jobs. The number of teaching staff, i.e. headmasters, assistant headmasters, heads of department and teachers decreased by 92 (1.8%) from the previous year. The number of teaching staff has decreased by 215 since its peak in 2008. The number of full-time equivalent teaching staff decreased by 121 (2.5%) from 2009 to 2010. In autumn 2010 there were 345 fewer full-time equivalent teachers than in 2008. The number of other staff than teaching staff decreased by 80 from the autumn of 2008 and their full-time equivalents decreased by 129.

A total of 568 fewer members of the teaching staff worked more than one full-time job in 2010 than in 2008.

The proportion of licensed teachers has never been higher
The proportion of licensed teachers has not been higher since Statistics Iceland started its data collection in 1997. The proportion of licensed teachers was 80-87% in 1998-2008 while it was 92.3% in the autumn of 2010. The proportion of licensed teachers is highest in the Capital Region, where approximately 96% of teachers hold a teaching licence. Only in the East (79.6%) and in the Westfjords (81.3%) is the proportion of licenced teachers under 87%. The proportion of licensed teachers outside the Capital Region has increased rapidly in recent years.

Teacher turnover is lower than in previous years
In October 2010, 13.2% of the teaching staff who were employed in October 2009 had left or taken leave from their job, a total of 657 teachers. The turnover rate is the lowest ever measured in the data collection since its start in 1998-1999. Teacher turnover is greatest among part-time teachers and non-licensed teachers. The turnover was 5.4% among licensed teachers, the lowest in the data collection.

The average age of teachers continues to increase
The number of younger teachers decreases more than the number of older teachers. There were 127 fewer teachers under the age of 45 than in the previous year, while the number of older teachers (45 and older) increases by 35. The average age of teaching staff is 45 and has been increasing. In the autumn of 2010 there were 493 members of the teaching staff who were 60 years old and over, a considerable increase since 1998 when they were 232. These teachers will retire in the next few years.

Pre-primary schools, compulsory schools and music schools operating as one institution
Since laws on pre-primary schools and compulsory schools were passed in 2008 it has become more common to operate pre-primary schools, compulsory schools and even music schools together under the management of one headmaster. In the autumn of 2010 this was the case for over 20 institutions. This mode of operation is more common in small communities in the countryside but there are examples found in larger communities as well.