As federal jobs decline, state and local jobs rise

While the federal government is hiring fewer people, state and local governments are bringing on more workers, the Census Bureau says.

Uncle Sam employed 2.45 million full-time workers in March 1998, down from 2.49 million in March 1997, the Census Bureau reported in data released this week. In contrast, state and local employment rose from 14.2 million to 14.5 million over the same period.

Federal jobs in the national defense and international relations area declined the most over the year, dropping by about five percent (37,000 positions). Other areas that saw declines were natural resources (down 3 percent, or 5,700 positions) and financial administration (down 4 percent, or 4,700 positions).

The only federal occupation that saw an increase of more than 5 percent in positions over the year was law enforcement-there were 5,600 more federal police officers in March 1998 than in 1997, the Census Bureau found.

Meanwhile, state and local jobs grew in elementary and secondary education, higher education, law enforcement and financial administration. Much of the growth was in education at the local level.