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…