Louisiana State Senate - Committees > Cut the fat > Report

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Subcommittee
On
Civil Service

Civil Service

Issue 1: Does Louisiana employ too many state workers?

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census Bureau employment data indicate that Louisiana employs about 333,200 state and local government employees. This level of public employment ranks Louisiana first among fourteen Southern states with respect to state and local employees per capita population. Because the responsibilities and functions of state and local governments vary among states, making either state-to-state or local-to-local comparisons of public employment levels is difficult.

With respect to state employment, the Department of State Civil Service indicates there were 66,332 civil service incumbents in FY 00, with an average annual salary of $26,932. The total payroll (excluding benefits) for these employees was estimated at $1.8 billion.

Louisiana far exceeds its Southern counterparts when considering the total level of state and local government employees. According to the table below, Louisiana state and local government employment exceeds the Southern regional average by 16.3 percent.

STATE

LOCAL

STATE AND LOCAL

Fourteen
Southern States

State Employees 1999

Employees per 10,000
population

Rank

Local Employees 1999

Employees per 10,000
population

Rank

State And Local Employees 1999
Employees per 10,000
population Rank

Louisiana
109,200
250 2 224,000 513 2
333,200

763
1

So. States excl. La. 1,571,300 185 3,990,900 471 5,562,200 656

Louisiana ranked second in both state and local public employment and ranked first in state and local public employment combined. South Carolina ranked first in state public employment and fifth in local public employment. Conversely, Texas ranked first in local public employment and thirteenth in state public employment.

Staff Suggestions:

The Legislature may wish to consider creating a study committee to hold hearings during the 2001-2002 interim on state public employment levels to determine the exact number of state and local employees. Cooperation from Civil Service, the Division of Administration, the Louisiana Municipal Association, the Louisiana Police Jury Association, and other groups would be essential. The committee should be directed to conduct an in-depth analysis of the topics outlined above, to work closely with the Human Resources Estimating Conference, and report its findings to the Legislature prior to the 2002 Regular Session.

The study could also include an analysis of functional responsibilities and service levels to properly compare public employment across states.

Further, the study could also examine the practice of placing certain funded positions in the other charges expenditure category and not including those positions in the agency’s Table of Organization (T.O.).

Issue 2: How can the state employee workforce be streamlined?

A recent Civil Service salary study indicates that Louisiana civil service employees on average earn 23 percent less than their private sector counterparts. A one-percent salary increase for state classified employees is estimated to cost about $18 million annually, excluding related benefits.

The Department of Civil Service further indicates that the turnover rate among classified employees was about 22.5 percent in FY 00. The cost of this turnover was estimated at $134 million by Civil Service (using a formula developed by the U.S. Department of Labor). Turnover costs include:

replacement costs (recruiting, selection, testing, and orientation),

training costs for new employees,

lost productivity,

lost time of employees impacted by the turnover (supervisors, managers, and specialists involved in recruiting and training), and

administrative costs associated with all of these processes.

Staff Suggestions:

Significant savings could be gained by reducing the size of the state employment workforce to better approximate those levels in peer states.

Some of these savings (both from reducing turnover costs and the reduction in the workforce) should be invested into increasing state employee salaries and/or enhancing employee professional development programs in state agencies.

Questions and comments may be directed to websen@legis.la.gov.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Fourteen Southern States	State Employees 1999	Employees per 10,000 population	Rank	Local Employees 1999	Employees per 10,000 population	Rank	State And Local Employees 1999	Employees per 10,000 population	Rank
Louisiana	109,200	250	2	224,000	513	2	333,200	763	1
So. States excl. La.	1,571,300	185		3,990,900	471		5,562,200	656