Census Bureau Reveals State of State Employment

State and local governments employed approximately 16.4 million full-time workers in March 2011, according to recent estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau. This number is down 1.4 percent from the same time in 2010. The report found that 8.9 million of these workers were employed in education, 964,381 worked in hospitals, 923,951 worked in police protection, and 717,940 were occupied in corrections positions.

Local governments accounted for a full 12 million full-time occupations in 2011, down over 200,000 from 2010. Part-time government employees increased slightly year-over-year to 4.9 million. The largest percentage of local government employment was found in education (58.7 percent) and accounted for 7 million jobs. The largest year-over-year decline in local government jobs in 2011 occurred in Arizona (down 7 percent) followed by Indiana (6.1 percent), Michigan (5.9 percent), New Jersey (4.9 percent), and New York (4.2 percent). The largest increase in local government full-time employees occurred in Arkansas (up 13.3 percent), followed by Louisiana (4.5 percent), Maine (5.3 percent), Utah (4.5 percent), and Wyoming (5.6 percent).

State governments employed 4.4 million full-time employees in 2011, down 0.4 percent year-over-year with most jobs located in the education sector (42.2 percent). The total number of jobs in education numbered 1.8 million. The largest declines in full-time state government employment occurred in Louisiana (down 4.9 percent), followed by Massachusetts (3.5 percent), New Jersey (3.4 percent), Oklahoma (3.1 percent), and New York (3 percent). The largest percentage increases were found in North Carolina (up 5.4 percent), Utah (4.3 percent), Tennessee (4 percent), Arizona (3 percent), and North Dakota (2.5 percent).