Free Republic

Employment Figures Michigan Civil Service: 50,799 Local Public Educational: 175,973 Total State and Local: 411,659 University and Community College: 60,544 Imputed Local Government: 124,343 Public Sector vs. Private Sector Bringing public-employee benefits in line with private-sector averages would save $5.7 billion in Michigan. Public-sector bargaining privileges are not inalienable rights. Public-sector wages and benefits have increased while the private-sector's have fallen. Insurance benefits per public-sector employee are $7,149 more per year than in the private sector. Retirement benefits per public-sector employee are $11,725 more per year than in the private sector. Since the early 2000s, state and local government jobs...

Local government and state workers’ average weekly pay surpassed that of private sector workers in Michigan in 2009, according to an analysis done by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. From 2001 to 2009, state workers have seen their average weekly pay jump 33 percent from $796 to $1,058. Local government workers had a 29 percent increase from $647 to $837. Meanwhile, the private sector workers had a 14 percent increase from $722 to $824. James Hohman, a fiscal policy analyst with the Mackinac Center, did the analysis using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics. “The private...