WASHINGTON POST: As politicians in Washington debate how to shrink the size of government, their counterparts in statehouses have actually been doing it. Public-sector jobs now account for the smallest share of the nation’s employment since the 2008 financial crisis, according to new data released Friday.
In October, the public sector cut 24,000 jobs while private industry continued adding jobs at a steady clip, the Labor Department said Friday. The nation’s unemployment rate fell slightly to 9 percent — but it would have been 8.7 percent had state and local governments not contracted the past two years…
“Things are moving in the right direction, but they’re not moving fast enough,” said Alan Krueger, who was confirmed late Thursday as chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. “The gains in the private sector were fairly broad-based, which was good to see, but we keep seeing government employment contracting, especially at the state and local level.” … (more)
