Public Sector Boosts Employment While Private Firms Lag Behind

Public-sector jobs have increased by 327,000 positions so far this year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, making up almost one-fifth of all new jobs created in the first eight months of 2023, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

This is a sharp rise in public-sector jobs as compared to the same period last year,  when they made up only 5% of total employment growth.

The sharp rise in the number of government workers at the federal, state and local level also comes as many companies in the private sector have been forced to cut staff and freeze new hiring.

This year’s growth in public-sector jobs is the highest share of overall U.S. payroll gains since 2001, when the government hired a large number of people to fill new positions connected to public safety after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to Julia Pollak, an economist at online jobs site ZipRecruiter.

Much of the increase in recent hiring has been to jobs left open by millions of teachers, police officers and other public servants who stopped working during the coronavirus pandemic.

Another such example of boosted employment in the public sector is the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which has boosted its staffing along the border with Mexico by offering recruitment bonuses and other incentives to employees, The Wall Street Journal reported.

According to a ZipRecruiter analysis,  postings for government jobs listed on its site this year advertise a salary that is some 20% higher than they what was advertised in 2022.

However, economists and human-resources executives have warned that recent gains in government payrolls could prove tenuous if a poor economy creates budget shortfalls.

This could make it much more difficult for governments to fill new positions in the future.