State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

Government Falls into a Recession and Job Cuts Soar

Governing: Nearly a million jobs were lost in the public sector in April. Services are needed more than ever, but the resources to provide them are vanishing. A survey by the National League of Cities (NLC) and the U.S. Conference of Mayors found that furloughs and layoffs are hitting cities of all sizes, with the rates rising in proportion to the size of the populations. Almost 60 percent of municipalities above 500,000 population will furlough employees and nearly half will have to lay them off.

“We usually see the private sector get laid off first,” says Dalia Thornton, director of research and collective bargaining for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). “We were shocked to see that huge number [1 million]. I would have expected that maybe in the third quarter of this year.”

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