In the United States, government employees includes the U.S. federal civil service, employees of the state governments, and employees of local governments.[citation needed]
Government employees are not necessarily the same as civil servants, as some jurisdictions specifically define which employees are civil servants; for example, it often excludes military employees.[1]
The federal government is the nation's single largest employer, although it employs only about 12% of all government employees, compared to 24% at the state level and 63% at the local level.[2]
State and local employees
editNon-federal employees in states can vary based on unique circumstances: for example, as of 2014, Wyoming had the most per capita public employees due to its public hospitals, followed by Alaska which has a relatively high number of highways and natural resources.[3] The category of Elementary/Secondary Education has the highest employment per capita across states.[3]
In 2012, three states (Arizona, Colorado, and Tennessee) passed major changes to their civil service hiring systems as part of a civil service reform movement, making it easier to hire and fire state employees.[4]
Gender and leadership at the federal level
editA 2011 study found 39% of head leaders, and 36% of leaders in the top two tiers of leadership in 118 U.S. agencies were women.[5] This study did not account for differences in field of expertise or years of experience. This study found a significant relationship between the gender of the leader and policy area, with women 2.8 times more likely to hold a high leadership position in an agency with a "feminine" policy area, such as education, health, and welfare. The same study found that organizations with a female in the top leadership role had more women in second-level leadership positions.
In 2016, women made up 43.3% of the federal executive branch workforce.[6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "civil service". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
- ^ "2012 Census of Governments: Employment Summary Report" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ^ a b "States With Most Government Employees: Totals and Per Capita Rates". www.governing.com. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
- ^ "Civil Service Reform Passes in 3 States". www.governing.com. Archived from the original on June 20, 2012. Retrieved 2016-12-04 – via Wayback Machine.
- ^ Smith, Amy E.; Monaghan, Karen R. (2011). "Some Ceilings Have More Cracks". The American Review of Public Administration. 43 (1): 50–71. doi:10.1177/0275074011420997. ISSN 0275-0740. S2CID 154428935.
- ^ "Executive Branch Employment by Gender and Race/National Origin September 2006 - September 2016". United States Office of Personal Management. Sep 2016. Retrieved 31 Dec 2017.