Government Job Growth
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More than 20 million Americans worked at various levels of government as
of this May -- and that excludes those in the armed forces. Unionized government
employees -- especially at the state and local level -- often earn salaries
and benefits that exceed those of comparably skilled private-sector workers
by 30 percent or more, experts report.
How do the ranks of government employees compare to numbers in the private
sector?
- The number of local, state and federal government jobs has grown 52
percent faster in the last 10 years than jobs in manufacturing, mining,
construction, finance, insurance, real estate and wholesale trade combined.
- One in every seven new jobs created over the past decade has been a
government job.
- Only the service and retail trade sectors of the economy have generated
more new jobs.
- As of 1989, there were nearly 1.6 million more Americans working in
manufacturing than working in government -- but there are 1.2 million more
workers in government than in manufacturing today.
Federal employment is trending downward. But the vast majority of the
reduction -- 92 percent -- has been due to cuts in the Defense Department.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the federal government employs
333,400 more people today than when President Kennedy was in office. By
the Clinton administration's own estimates, eliminating those positions
would save federal taxpayers $13.3 billion every year.
Source: James Carter, aide to Sen. John Ashcroft (R-Mo.), "Good Enough
for Government Work?" Investor's Business Daily, August 18,
1998.
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