WHY have so many teachers, police officers, firefighters and other public workers been laid off since the financial crisis hit — and why are so few being offered new jobs now?
From July 2008 to July 2012, the number of state and local employees nationwide fell by 715,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The reality is actually worse than that figure suggests. The total ended up 1.31 million people below where it would have been had public sector employment simply kept pace with population growth.
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Mr. Shiller- I'm surprised you didn't include the stickiness of public sector unions as having an impact. Because of the contractual obligations of guaranteed pay raises, it seems a highly likely result to reduce employee count.
ReplyDeleteWSJ article- "Teachers received total wage increases of 19% to 46% during their 2007-2012 contract, which expired in June, depending on such factors as length of service, according to a fact finder's report issued in July. The cost of living increased about 10% over the same period."