The Public Sector Workforce – Past, Present, and Future

Over the past decade, the state and local government workforce has seen, and continues to see, much change. In light of this, this paper outlines demographic trends in the state and local public sector and contrasts them with the private sector; highlights future government workforce trends; and discusses some of the workforce needs and challenges identified by state and local government practitioners in the wake of the large baby boomer cohort beginning to retire. Key findings include:

• The public sector workforce tends to be older than the private sector’s.
• The public sector workforce is more educated than the private sector’s.
• Job opening and turnover rates (layoffs, discharges, quits) are lower in the public sector, although retirement rates are about the same as those in the private sector.
• Employment in state and local government is expected to increase by 8 percent overall between 2006 and 2016, with a 10-year growth rate of 11 percent for education positions and more than 20 percent for health care positions.
• State and local government leaders view competition for talent, location of positions, and family considerations as the major challenges to recruiting and retaining the public sector workforce of the future.

The Public Sector Workforce - Past Present and Future