Unemployment Now Even Impacting Government Jobs
By: Doug Busselman, Executive Vice President
The downturn in the economy and the impacts of unemployment are now even reaching some sectors of the government. This account shows reports on the newest developments taking shape where the impact of growing unemployment is now making a mark on local government employment in Nevada. Comparing local government jobs from April of 2009 and April of 2010, there has been a 5.2 percent decline with 5,500 fewer jobs.
Although the loss of any job is something that hits an individual and family with a significant consequence, the private sector has been dealing with this reality for over two years. In his February 10, 2010 commentary, Geoff Lawrence of the Nevada Policy Research Institute noted that state workers were just starting to adjust to the ramifications of the bad economy, mostly coming in the form of pay reductions. His point was that by way of comparison to what the private sector has been enduring the proposals to tighten the belts of state government wasn’t nearly as draconian.
A point made in the Nevada News Bureau story caught my eye (about mid-way down the story) –
Numbers that can grow, even in a downturn, are possible (higher paid employees leaving and newer lower-paid replacements being hired) …something, perhaps worth digging deeper into and watching over a longer-term?
The downturn in the economy and the impacts of unemployment are now even reaching some sectors of the government. This account shows reports on the newest developments taking shape where the impact of growing unemployment is now making a mark on local government employment in Nevada. Comparing local government jobs from April of 2009 and April of 2010, there has been a 5.2 percent decline with 5,500 fewer jobs.
Although the loss of any job is something that hits an individual and family with a significant consequence, the private sector has been dealing with this reality for over two years. In his February 10, 2010 commentary, Geoff Lawrence of the Nevada Policy Research Institute noted that state workers were just starting to adjust to the ramifications of the bad economy, mostly coming in the form of pay reductions. His point was that by way of comparison to what the private sector has been enduring the proposals to tighten the belts of state government wasn’t nearly as draconian.
A point made in the Nevada News Bureau story caught my eye (about mid-way down the story) –
“State government employment actually grew slightly during that same period, by 400 jobs.”That amount of an increase is not significant as any hiring boom, but it does beg the question about whether reductions in state government are actually taking place. We are lead to believe that we have a bare bones government and tax increases are the only plausible alternative that Nevada policymakers can consider. Yet, state government employment has increased.
Numbers that can grow, even in a downturn, are possible (higher paid employees leaving and newer lower-paid replacements being hired) …something, perhaps worth digging deeper into and watching over a longer-term?
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