News
NYT | More College Graduates Take Public Service Jobs
As job hunts became tough after the crisis, anecdotal evidence suggested that more young people considered public service. Exactly how big that shift was is now becoming clear: In 2009 alone, 16 percent more young college graduates worked for the federal government than in the previous year and 11 percent more for nonprofit groups, according to an analysis by The New York Times of data from the American Community Survey of the United States Census Bureau.
Bloomberg | Announced U.S. Job Cuts Rose 20% From Year Ago, Challenger Says
Employers in the U.S. announced more job cuts in February than in the same month last year, led by a surge at government agencies.
CNN Money | Mixed signals for the job market
Payroll processing firm ADP reported a larger-than-expected increase in private-sector employment Wednesday, but a separate report showed planned layoffs rose sharply in February.
MSNBC | Bernanke: House GOP spending cuts wouldn't cost 700,000 jobs
Testifying before the Senate Banking and Urban Affairs Committee Tuesday, Bernanke said that his analysis “doesn't give a number that high” for job losses resulting from the GOP plan to eliminate $61 billion in government spending this year, adding that the cuts would only reduce growth "on the margin."
Blogs
Public Sector Inc. | New Toolkit for Cutting Employee Costs
As of September 2010, state and local governments had 19.4 million employees earning an average of $40.10 per hour in compensation--$26.25 as wages and $13.85 as benefits. Together, wages and benefits combine to make up 43 percent of state and local spending. Since employee compensation accounts for nearly half of state and local spending, compensation reform is a necessity as governments struggle under financial strain.
Cato@Liberty | Unions and Government Worker Pay
Are these government worker pay advantages related to union shares in the states? I performed a simple regression analysis to find out. The answer is “Yes”—states with more unionized government workforces tend to have a higher government compensation advantage.
