Most teachers will suffer pay cuts of 5% in real terms this year on top of more than a decade of squeezed wages, analysis shows.
As thousands of teachers are balloted for strikes, the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) laid bare the extent to which teachers' pay has been slashed since 2010.
Its analysis found salaries in England will increase by 5% in 2022/23 - but double-digit inflation means teachers are actually being hit by a 5% real terms pay cut.
Experienced and senior teachers - which covers most staff - have seen their salaries plummet by 13% in real terms since 2010/11.
Teachers in the middle of the salary scale have suffered 9-10% cuts to pay since 2010–11, with starting salaries falling by 5% in real-terms.
In contrast, average earnings across the whole economy is likely to have grown in total by about 2% in real-terms between 2010–11 and 2022–23.
Further pay cuts could be coming down the pipeline for 2023/24, after the schools pay review body recommended a 3% wage increase last year - well below inflation.
However the Government decided not to make a decision and will instead look at the issue again in the summer.
The IFS said it was "unsurprising" that wage cuts had led to difficulties recruiting and retaining staff.
Targets for teacher trainees were missed in 2022–23, with 60% of the target achieved for secondary school teachers and only 17% of the target in physics.
It comes as three major unions - the NEU, NASUWT and the NAHT - are balloting their members for walkouts over pay, with results expected in the coming days.
Ministers are expected to issue fresh guidance to heads on what to do in the event of mass walkouts of staff. Supporting vulnerable children who were hardest hit by lockdowns will be the priority.
Luke Sibieta, Research Fellow at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said: "With inflation currently running at 10%, most teachers will see a 5% real-terms fall in their salary this year.
"Combined with past real-terms cuts dating back to 2010, more experienced teachers will have seen a 13% real-terms drop in salaries between 2010 and 2022.
"Given this, it is perhaps unsurprising that applications to teacher training have continued to disappoint and that schools report increasing problems recruiting and retaining staff."
However he said school spending per pupil was expected to grow faster than the costs facing heads after a £2.3billion cash injection in the Autumn Statement - returning to 2010 levels by next year.
Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders union, said the findings underlined the "significant real-terms fall in [teachers] pay over the past 12 years while average earnings have risen across the rest of the economy".
"This is one of the main reasons why schools and colleges are dealing with a recruitment and retention crisis which is making it increasingly difficult to put teachers in front of classes, and which is putting educational standards at risk," he said.
Mr Barton said the "desperate situation" was a result of the way the Tories have eroded pay and working conditions -and said the report should be a "wake-up call" to the Government.
Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary, National Education Union, said: "Given this climate, one that is built on years of real-terms cuts to pay, it is no surprise to see applications to teacher training well below Government targets, and schools reporting difficulties recruiting and retaining staff. Across the curriculum, there are shortages of teachers.
"Without qualified teachers in the classroom the education of our children and young people will suffer greatly. That is something that parents and employers will not forgive."
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “This week, the Education Secretary Gillian Keegan held a constructive meeting with union leaders. She expressed the importance of working together to avoid strike action especially given the significant disruption due to the pandemic over recent years.
“Alongside starting open discussions on the evidence submitted for next years’ pay award, the Secretary of State listened to union leaders’ broader concerns. The Education Secretary expressed her willingness to continue talks over the coming days and weeks.
“These discussions, build on previous meetings and correspondence, including where unions called for an extra £2 billion uplift for schools next year and the year after, which the Government delivered in the Autumn Statement.”
