The economy and substitutes

The local daily rag here in NashVegas had a somewhat interesting article in Sunday's paper about substitute teachers and the economy. In an article titled;

In sour economy, substitute teaching gains appeal
Metro has its pick of substitute teachers

The article goes on to discuss how the downturn in the economy has attracted subs.

The author claims that during the first half of the school year, the district filled 98 percent of teacher vacancies, compared with an 88 percent fill rate during the same period last year.
Almost half of the subs looking for work at Metro's most recent orientation last week said they were laid off from other jobs, according to Naomi Hill, coordinator for special services.
But even with the increased traffic, officials say they're still looking for more applicants.
"We just want the number to increase so when teachers are absent we can cover every class every day," Hill said.

Between 650 and 700 of Metro's 5,000 teachers are absent on any given day, Hill said. Central office staff tries to have three to four potential subs to call for any one slot, which means the district needs nearly 3,000 subs qualified to work at all times.
So far this school year, the district has hired 588 new subs as part of the 2,200 cleared to work.

I agree that it has been easier to find subs this year but what I want to know is; is NashVegas different or are the norm?