Wisconsin's Public Sector Leaner Than Most

Here are some of the highlights of the Wisconsin Budget Project's analysis of the new Census Bureau data:

When the number of full-time equivalent positions (FTEs) is measured relative to each state's 2008 population, only 9 other states had a leaner public sector than Wisconsin.

Wisconsin's ranking on that measure has been falling slowly over the current decade, from 33rd in 2000 to 41st in 2008.
The per capita spending for all state and local employees in Wisconsin was 10.6% below the national average and ranked 33rd.

The payroll per FTE was 2.6 percent below the average, though Wisconsin was above the median on that measure - ranking 19th nationally.

Education accounted for 58.3%of government jobs in Wisconsin in 2008, compared to 53.5% in education nationally.
The Wisconsin Budget Project's 2-page summary of our analysis can be found at:
http://www.wccf.org/pdf/public_sector_job_rankings_11-2009.pdf