Study: Public employees make up 11.7% of the Pennsylvania workforce, 2nd lowest in U.S.

(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.

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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.

Share of Public-Sector Workers by State, From Highest to Lowest

RankStateShare of Wyoming Workers in Public SectorTotal Public Sector WorkersMedian Household Income
1Wyoming27.2%65,061$65,003
2New Mexico26.8%199,017$51,945
3Alaska25.7%72,083$75,463
4Hawaii25.6%129,987$83,102
5Maryland25.1%674,913$86,738
6Virginia22.5%834,882$76,456
7Maine20.4%113,341$58,924
8Montana19.6%82,218$57,153
9Oklahoma19.2%288,327$54,449
10West Virginia19.0%126,621$48,850
11Louisiana18.1%304,950$51,073
12North Dakota18.0%60,918$64,577
13Vermont17.7%46,815$63,001
14Washington17.6%565,169$78,687
15Mississippi17.3%179,107$45,792
16Utah17.2%241,158$75,780
17Kansas16.9%217,184$62,087
18New York16.9%1,279,183$72,108
19Oregon16.7%282,884$67,058
20Kentucky16.6%280,309$52,295
21Alabama16.5%313,257$51,734
22Iowa16.5%230,784$61,691
23Colorado16.4%406,332$77,127
24South Carolina16.4%333,822$56,227
25Nebraska16.3%144,931$63,229
26Delaware16.1%68,203$70,176
27Arkansas15.9%184,419$48,952
28Ohio15.9%762,977$58,642
29California15.6%2,354,657$80,440
30Idaho15.4%112,618$60,999
31Minnesota15.4%387,487$74,593
32Georgia15.3%638,027$61,980
33New Jersey15.2%567,949$85,751
34South Dakota15.0%57,698$59,533
35Texas14.9%1,733,846$64,034
36Nevada14.9%180,044$63,276
37Wisconsin14.6%379,240$64,168
38Tennessee14.3%382,690$56,071
39Arizona14.3%414,557$62,055
40North Carolina14.1%583,766$57,341
41Missouri14.0%354,086$57,409
42New Hampshire13.8%86,758$77,933
43Rhode Island13.8%62,685$71,169
44Florida13.5%1,103,050$59,227
45Connecticut12.9%196,755$78,833
46Michigan12.4%492,883$59,584
47Illinois12.3%636,737$69,187
48Indiana11.7%332,370$57,603
49Pennsylvania11.7%622,046$63,463
50Massachusetts11.7%349,461$85,843

Source: 24/7 Wall St.

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