Posted on 03/09/2007 10:14:30 AM PST by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO - While critics believe California state government is bloated, a new analysis from a Silicon Valley think tank suggests the state has one of the leanest work forces in the country.
Census data released this week shows California had 393,609 full-time-equivalent employees as of last March, working out to 105 employees per 10,000 state residents, according to the Palo Alto-based Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy.
That makes California the third-lowest in the nation in state employees per resident, behind every state except Illinois (at 103) and Nevada (at 104). The federal government has 142 employees per 10,000 residents.
"It does suggest that at least compared to other states, we're not carrying a lot of extra employees," said center director Stephen Levy.
But Levy cautioned that the analysis does not necessarily mean California government operates as efficiently as it can. And he noted that employee salaries in California tend to be higher than most other states', partly because of the high cost of living.
Some conservative critics believe those high salary levels are fueling laxity in state government employees.
State Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, said that simply because of economies of scale, least-populated states tend to have the most employees per resident while larger states automatically rank near the bottom.
McClintock said California actually should rank at the bottom and has the highest average salary figures for state employees - far higher than other states with similar cost-of-living levels.
"What the numbers are actually telling us is there is a great deal of fat that can be cut from state bureaucracy," McClintock said. "Quite the opposite of the conclusion they're reaching."
McClintock said California's average monthly payroll works out to about $5,211 per employee. By comparison, New York state pays around $4,750 per employee every month and the federal government pays about $3,945.
The study comes four years after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ran for office in the 2003 recall and vowed to make state government leaner and more efficient.
State Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, said that simply because of economies of scale, least-populated states tend to have the most employees per resident while larger states automatically rank near the bottom.
McClintock said California actually should rank at the bottom and has the highest average salary figures for state employees - far higher than other states with similar cost-of-living levels.
"What the numbers are actually telling us is there is a great deal of fat that can be cut from state bureaucracy," McClintock said. "Quite the opposite of the conclusion they're reaching."
fwiw, California State Gubamint is Hiring and Open for Business as usual. Any numbers examined or sliced and diced will show an upward trend. (I'd stake a state job on it. ;0) )
Would your Mom have preferred full-time instead of contractor status?
Then how come they can't afford to pay them a decent wage? Look at CSU and how much a grounds keeper gets payed. They can't even make a house payment on those wages and they expect 110%. They may be lean but even the unions don't stand up for them when it comes to wages. Our state legislators should be payed what they make. Also, if the legislators go on part time, they should should get part time wages. All they do is cost us money anyway.
The state of California is the largest employer in the state.
Our founding fathers roll in their graves that the king is employing the largest group.
No....she's always been self-employed.
1) The RC2 account has little idea of the pay scale for unskilled labor in the CSU system.
2) The RC2 account has little idea of ratio of the unskilled, public rate to the minimum wage (private sector unskilled labor rate).
In case you were wondering, an R05 (groundsworker) starts at $15.47/hr + benefits and minimum wage is currently $7.50 an hour w/o bennies.
Those outdated far-right-wing concepts just don't work with the new progressive bunch. ;-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.