Big Gains for State and Local Employment in June

State and local government employment had a big month in June, rising by 24,000 jobs according to today’s jobs report.  Most of the gains came in K-12 school districts, which added 18,000 jobs.

The number of state and local public employees has been trending upward since the end of 2012 (see chart), with job growth accelerating since the start of 2014.  Still, states and localities have 425,000  fewer public employees — teachers, police officers, social workers, and so on — than when the recession started, even as the need for public services has continued to grow.

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