Kansas continues to lose private sector jobs as it adds more taxpayer-funded government jobs, a trend mirrored at the national level. The private sector lost 57,900 jobs between December 2007 and December 2009 while government added 3,200 jobs in Kansas according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Local government grew the most over the two years, adding 2,000 jobs for a total of 182,900 jobs in the state, followed closely by the federal government which added 1,900 jobs for a total of 26,000. State government jobs decreased by 700 to 53,100 jobs.  (BLS counts school administrators as government workers but includes teachers in private sector employment).

That increase isn’t a recent phenomenon. Since December 1999 Kansas added 20,300 public sector (government) jobs, an 8.4 percent growth, while the private sector lost 30,000 jobs, a 2.7 percent decline. Federal government employment grew the fastest at 46.9%, adding 8,300 workers.  Local government grew 7.1 percent, adding 12,100 jobs in ten years, while State government employment declined 0.2 percent, shedding 100 jobs.

Government employment is also increasing much faster than the population of Kansas, which grew just 4.8% between the 2000 Census and July, 2009.

The growth in taxpayer-funded employment puts more pressure on declining tax revenues, caused in large part by the loss of private sector jobs.

The change in the number of private and public sector jobs is only part of the problem. Public sector jobs typically pay higher total compensation than comparable private sector jobs. Defined benefit pension plans and greater access to employer-funded health care add significantly to public sector employee total compensation.

Total hourly compensation for public sector employees in Kansas and other northern plains sates averages $32 per hour. Private sector compensation in the region averages $25.35 according to a CATO Institute study using BLS data. These higher costs are borne by taxpayers.

Total compensation for all private sector jobs in Kansas grew 43.8 percent from 1999 to 2008. Local government compensation grew 49.6 percent according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce.

Union members also tend to make considerably more than non-union workers. According to a January BLS report on national employment, the number of union workers on government payrolls outnumbered union members working in the private sector for the first time last year. This change reflects both the sharp decline in private sector employment nationwide and an increase in efforts to unionize public sector employees.

Total union membership in Kansas declined by 12,000 between January 2008 and January 2009 according to the BLS with about 8.7% or workers belonging to a union.

Kansas Employment