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| Comparisons | |||||
4. Comparisons to Other States
4.5 Jobs and Payroll
State
employment, as measured by the U.S. Department
of Commerce (for the month of March), was 22,358 in 1997. (U.S. Dept.
of Commerce counts some local government employees who are paid by state
funds as state employees.) A good measure of the concentration of state
government jobs is the number of jobs per 10,000 population. That year
there were 367 state government jobs for every 10,000 people in Alaska.
The national average was 149. That meant that the Alaska concentration
was 2.46 times the national average.
Public
employment, the combination of state and local government jobs,
was less concentrated in Alaska because of the prevalence of state,
compared to local government, jobs in Alaska. In 1997 there were 45,490
public employees in Alaska—747 public jobs for every 10,000 people
in Alaska. The national average was 531. That meant that the Alaska
concentration was 1.41 times the national average.
| Alaska Government Employment in 1997 | ||||
|
|
Alaska
|
Alaska
per 10K population
|
U.S.
Avg per 10K population
|
Ratio
AK/US Avg
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State FTE Jobs |
22,358
|
367
|
149
|
2.46
|
| Local FTE Jobs |
23,132
|
380
|
382
|
1.00
|
| Public (State+ Local) FTE Jobs |
45,490
|
747
|
531
|
1.41
|
| Source: U.S. Dept of Commerce, Governmental Finances. FTE is "full- time equivalent." | ||||
The public employment comparison to the U.S. average, 1.41, is much less than the COLA-adjusted outlays comparison, 1.87. This reflects the fact that a large share of the extra Alaska spending is directed at payments directly to households and businesses rather than to employees.
The ratio of public
employee concentration in Alaska was a bit lower in 1998.
| Alaska Government Employment in 1998 | ||||
|
|
Alaska
|
Alaska
per 10 K population
|
U.S.
Avg per 10 K population
|
Ratio
Ak/US Avg
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State FTE Jobs |
22,147
|
361
|
147
|
2.46
|
| Local FTE Jobs |
22,069
|
359
|
389
|
.97
|
| Public (State+ Local) FTE Jobs |
44,216
|
720
|
536
|
1.34
|
| Source: U.S. Dept of Commerce, Governmental Finances. FTE is "full- time equivalent." | ||||
If public sector jobs in Alaska had been equal to the U.S. average in 1997, public employment in Alaska would have been 32,361. The extra Alaska jobs in excess of the U.S. average amounted to 13,129.
| "Extra"
Alaska Public Employment in 1997 |
||
|
|
Alaska
|
Alaska
per 10 K population
|
|---|---|---|
| FTE Jobs |
45,490
|
747
|
| FTE Jobs at U.S. Avg Rate |
32,361
|
541
|
| EXTRA FTE Jobs |
13,129
|
-
|
| Source: U.S. Dept of Commerce, Governmental Finances. | ||
Wage Rate. The state government average monthly wage in 1997 was $3,614. This was 26 percent above the U.S. average.
| State Average FTE Monthly Wage in 1997 | |
|
Alaska
|
$3,614
|
|
US
Average
|
$2,863
|
|
Ratio:
AK/US
|
1.26
|
| Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Governmental Finances. | |
The combined state and local wage rate was $3,605, 1.30 times the U.S. average.
|
Public
Average FTE Monthly Wage in 1997
|
|||
|
|
State
+ Local
|
Local
|
State
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska |
$
3,605
|
$3,596
|
$
3,614
|
| U.S. Average |
$
2,773
|
$
2,738
|
$
2,863
|
| Ratio: AK/US |
1.30
|
1.31
|
1.26
|
| Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Governmental Finances. | |||
The COLA-adjusted wage rate was 1.06 times the U.S. Average.
Payroll. In March of 1997 the Alaska public payroll was $164 million. Adjusted for COLA to the U.S. average price level, it was $133 million.
If the concentration
of public employees had been the same in Alaska as the U.S. average and
Alaska public employees had been paid at the same rate as the U.S. average,
the Alaska payroll would have been $90 million (the U.S. average price
level). The difference between $133 and $90 million—$43 million—is
due mostly to the higher concentration of public employees in the state
rather than a higher real wage.
| Alaska Public Payroll in March of 1997 | ||||
|
|
Wage
|
Employees
|
Payroll
|
Ratio
AK/US Avg
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Actual |
$
3,605
|
45,490
|
$
164
|
1.83
|
| At U.S. Price Level |
$
2,931
|
45,490
|
$
133
|
1.48
|
| At U.S. Wage and Employee Concentration |
$
2,773
|
32,361
|
$
90
|
-
|
| Sources: U.S. Department of Commerce, Governmental Finances, and ISER. | ||||
The payroll differential is for the month of March. The differential for the entire budget year would be a little less than 12 times this amount—$516 million—primarily due to the 9-month work year for teachers.
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Research, University of Alaska Anchorage
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Page Updated April 16, 2003