Michigan Public Payrolls Protected in Recent Recession
Since the beginning of the national recession in December 2007, Michigan's private sector has lost 70 times more jobs than its government sector.
Specifically, there are now 388,100 fewer Michigan's private sector payroll jobs as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while government payrolls (which include federal, state, municipal and school employees) are down by just 5,400 jobs.
Of course the private sector provides many more jobs than the public sector, but even on a percentage basis the magnitude of the discrepancy is startling: Private-sector employment in Michigan fell by 11 percent, while there are just 1 percent fewer government workers than before the recession.
At the state government level there are actually more employees, the increase mostly driven by larger state university payrolls. But there has also been some growth in the state bureaucracy. According to state workforce reports, the number of state "classified" jobs (civil servants, mostly unionized) has actually risen 3.4 percent since the beginning of the recession. There may be some seasonality in these figures, but even comparing December 2007 to December 2009 shows a slight increase.
Thankfully, in the most recent year Michigan's private sector rebounded slightly. Private payrolls went up 0.7 percent while government employment fell 0.3 percent, even with an increase of temporary Census workers in recent months.
In sum, while the public sector escaped mostly unharmed, employment in Michigan's private sector has experienced a loss similar to donating blood. In comparison, the public sector nicked its knee.
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You're kidding?
Yeah, let's do what Bush did and downsize something like FEMA--gut it's budget, cut workers, roll it into the Homeland Security--you know, all that cut cut cut cut stuff you love.
I forget...what happened after Bush did that? Enlighten me.
Your simplistic talking points of bravado hide the fact that your kind of thinking is a dinosaur. The country--through necessity--has been moving in just the opposite direction of what you advocate since its inception.
Sounds good
That's interesting that you continually post articles that make the private sector look horrible. I agree: the "free market" has miserably failed the American people. Perhaps one day the private sector will once again PULL ITSELF UP to the public sector and we'll all be better off. In the interim, public services are being crushed by the onslaught of victims of the private sector. Those jobs and pay in public are needed at this crucial time.
Um, you've completely missed the point here marketmayhem. How are we going to pay for all these jobs the public sector is saving or creating? In case you didn't realize yet, both the state and the country are broke. The free market hasn't failed us - overspending by big gov't, overregulation by said gov't, overtaxation, and socialization of private sector enterprise has. Given the right atmospehere (hint...opposite of anything Obama or Granhom propses) the private sector will save this country. Name one solvent program the government is running. I say Michigan needs to privatize as much of the public sector as we can and cut the size of gov't at all levels. The utopia you seek is called Detroit.