State and Local Government in US – 73 percent hiring

For the second year in a row, state and local governments are hiring. In a survey of state and local government human resources managers, 73 percent reported hiring employees in the past year (up from 66 percent in last year’s survey), and 54 percent hired more people than they did in 2013. At the same time, 47 percent of respondents noted that the number of retirements was higher than in 2013. For the sixth year in a row, a majority of respondents (53 percent in this survey) reported making changes to health care benefits. Shifting costs to employees, such as higher premiums, copayments, and deductibles, was reported by 43 percent of respondents. Changes to retirement benefit plans slowed in the past year, with 29 percent making changes compared to 35 percent in the previous year. For many governments, there is a sense of urgency about recruitment, retention, and succession planning. As one respondent wrote, “Between now and 2020, we are looking at 40 percent of the workforce being able to retire.” Other top-ranked workforce concerns were staff development, competitive compensation packages, and being able to retain the staff needed for core services.

This annual survey was conducted by SLGE, the International Public Management Association for Human Resources, and National Association of State Personnel Executives. Three hundred thirty-six (336)  who are IPMA-HR and NASPE member human resource professionals took part in the survey, which was conducted in March and April 2015.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at State and Local Government Workforce: 2015 Trends | SLGE.