Of the workforce in Wyoming, 22 percent are employed by local or state government. That's higher than any other state in the US. Alaska is second highest, with the government employing 20.8 percent of its workforce. Surprisingly, the nation's capitol has the lowest percent — only 7.9 percent are employed by local or state government.
More Worker Bee Facts:
- Government workers tend to be better educated — nearly half have a four-year degree and a fourth have advanced degrees; in the private sector, less than 30 percent have college educations.
- In the government sector, 60 percent of the workforce is female, compared to just 46 percent in the private sector.
- The US federal government is the largest employer in the US, employing about two million people — and that doesn't even include the half a million people employed at the US Post Office.
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More Info: New York Times; CEPR
Discussion Comments
I'm surprised that so many people in the government workforce are female. Not only does it show that women are just as capable of being in the workforce as men (if not even more so), but it's possible that other jobs are seeking more women as well. After all, we've moved way past that day and age where women were forced to stay home and work in the kitchen.
When someone works for the government, I imagine that there would be a lot of benefits involved. Obviously, there are a lot of high paying jobs out there, but in this case, it's a different story. Unlike the "average" working place (such as McDonald's), working for the government gives you lots of benefits, such as extra vacation time, and different types of insurance.
In relation to working for the government, in this day and age, has anyone noticed that it's relatively difficult to find a job? Sometimes, you can search for hours and hours, but nothing may come up. The workforce is certainly tough out there, that's for sure.
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