State and local governments across the nation have lost 695,000 jobs since August 2008, according to a new report from the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government. That’s an overall decrease of 3.5%. By contrast, the private sector is almost back to pre-recession levels, down 0.6% from peak employment in January 2008.
Last year, the Pew States Project presented the figures in a handy infographic that shows employment changes in all the states at a glance. Connecticut is in the group of nine states that have each lost at least 5% of its state and local employees between 2008 and 2012. At the other end of the spectrum is a group of eight states that each added a minimum of 2.5% to its state and local workforce in that same timeframe.
