Government employment drops by 162,800 jobs

Governments have fewer employees in 34 states and the District of Columbia since June 2011.

Big government has gotten a bit smaller during the past year.

Total employment by all federal, state and local governments dropped by 162,800 jobs between the midpoints of 2011 and 2012, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That equals a decline of 0.7 percent.

The downward trend was widespread, with 34 states and the District of Columbia paring their government workforces during the year.

Texas and Montana registered the biggest declines. Texas cut 51,100 government jobs between June 2011 and the same month this year, the nation's largest drop in raw numbers. Montana's reduction of 4.2 percent was the biggest in that category.

The database below has the latest government employment numbers for the 50 states and D.C. The seasonally adjusted totals encompass all workers at the federal, state and local levels. The list can be re-sorted by clicking any column header.

The latest figures represent at least a temporary reversal of a longterm increase in government employment. A recent On Numbers report noted that the number of federal, state and local government jobs had grown by 2.8 percent during the past decade.

Government workforces continued to expand in 15 states between mid-2011 and mid-2012, led by rises of 13,000 in North Carolina and 10,800 in Tennessee.

The biggest percentage jump was 5.6 percent in West Virginia.

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GOVERNMENT EMPLOYMENT BY STATE (JUNE 2012)

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