Local Government Still Recovering From Steep Job Losses

Local governments have not yet recovered from steep job losses in 2010 and 2011, according to recent Department of Labor data, as reported in Governing magazine.  As described in Governing,

Local government employment climbed only half a percentage point over the past 12 months. At the state level, public employment totals remain nearly unchanged. Seasonal changes in education employment, which account for a large share of the jobs, mostly explain the sector’s monthly fluctuations in job totals. . . Federal employment, while a much smaller piece of the sector, has been hit hardest. Private industry, by comparison, added about 2.5 million jobs over the past 12 months. That’s an increase of about 2.2 percent, compared to 0.3 percent for total government employment.

For more information on local government employment in Maryland, come to MACo’s Winter Conference session, Bullseye: Hitting the Moving Target of County Government Recruitment and Training, sponsored by the Maryland Association of Human Resources Officers.  In this session, County HR Directors and the Executive Director of the Maryland Association of Community Colleges will be discussing challenges in county government employment.  From the session description,

Every county department relies on its greatest asset – its people – to deliver services to residents. Over the next few years, a number of seasoned county workers will become eligible for retirement, and, at the same time, millennial employees are entering the workforce with different skills and expectations than their predecessors. Human resources management in this setting requires creativity and innovation. In this session, county human resources officers will describe their tactics for maintaining a skilled workforce over the next decade and a representative of Maryland’s Community Colleges will share how they can assist county governments as they set their sights on a changing workforce.

Learn more about MACo’s Winter Conference:

Questions? Contact Meetings & Events Director Virginia White.