(By The Center Square) The share of the Pennsylvania workforce employed by local, state or federal governments was 11.7 percent prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the second lowest percentage among the 50 states, according to a new study from the website 24/7 Wall St.
The public-sector workers in Pennsylvania numbered 622,046, based on 2019 data compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment Statistics unit. And since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, more than 860,000 state and local public education jobs have been lost, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Nationwide, the three levels of government employ about 20.2 million, representing nearly 15 percent of the U.S. workforce, 24/7 Wall St. reported. Education and library jobs make up nearly three-fourths of all government jobs, the study found.
The percentage of government workers varies significantly from state to state, according to 24/7 Wall St., from a low of 12 percent in Massachusetts to a high of 27 percent in Wyoming.
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Share of Public-Sector Workers by State, From Highest to Lowest
Rank State Share of Wyoming Workers in Public Sector Total Public Sector Workers Median Household Income 1 Wyoming 27.2% 65,061 $65,003 2 New Mexico 26.8% 199,017 $51,945 3 Alaska 25.7% 72,083 $75,463 4 Hawaii 25.6% 129,987 $83,102 5 Maryland 25.1% 674,913 $86,738 6 Virginia 22.5% 834,882 $76,456 7 Maine 20.4% 113,341 $58,924 8 Montana 19.6% 82,218 $57,153 9 Oklahoma 19.2% 288,327 $54,449 10 West Virginia 19.0% 126,621 $48,850 11 Louisiana 18.1% 304,950 $51,073 12 North Dakota 18.0% 60,918 $64,577 13 Vermont 17.7% 46,815 $63,001 14 Washington 17.6% 565,169 $78,687 15 Mississippi 17.3% 179,107 $45,792 16 Utah 17.2% 241,158 $75,780 17 Kansas 16.9% 217,184 $62,087 18 New York 16.9% 1,279,183 $72,108 19 Oregon 16.7% 282,884 $67,058 20 Kentucky 16.6% 280,309 $52,295 21 Alabama 16.5% 313,257 $51,734 22 Iowa 16.5% 230,784 $61,691 23 Colorado 16.4% 406,332 $77,127 24 South Carolina 16.4% 333,822 $56,227 25 Nebraska 16.3% 144,931 $63,229 26 Delaware 16.1% 68,203 $70,176 27 Arkansas 15.9% 184,419 $48,952 28 Ohio 15.9% 762,977 $58,642 29 California 15.6% 2,354,657 $80,440 30 Idaho 15.4% 112,618 $60,999 31 Minnesota 15.4% 387,487 $74,593 32 Georgia 15.3% 638,027 $61,980 33 New Jersey 15.2% 567,949 $85,751 34 South Dakota 15.0% 57,698 $59,533 35 Texas 14.9% 1,733,846 $64,034 36 Nevada 14.9% 180,044 $63,276 37 Wisconsin 14.6% 379,240 $64,168 38 Tennessee 14.3% 382,690 $56,071 39 Arizona 14.3% 414,557 $62,055 40 North Carolina 14.1% 583,766 $57,341 41 Missouri 14.0% 354,086 $57,409 42 New Hampshire 13.8% 86,758 $77,933 43 Rhode Island 13.8% 62,685 $71,169 44 Florida 13.5% 1,103,050 $59,227 45 Connecticut 12.9% 196,755 $78,833 46 Michigan 12.4% 492,883 $59,584 47 Illinois 12.3% 636,737 $69,187 48 Indiana 11.7% 332,370 $57,603 49 Pennsylvania 11.7% 622,046 $63,463 50 Massachusetts 11.7% 349,461 $85,843
Source: 24/7 Wall St.
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