Michigan ranks 49th in percent on government payrolls, and 10 more facts

[Cripplecreek]

Michigan has the second-lowest percentage of workers on government payrolls among the 50 states, based on U.S. Census estimates for 2016.

About 10.3% of Michigan workers were employed by federal, state or local government, slightly more than the 10.1% on government payrolls in Pennsylvania.

And those estimates only include the civilian population, not the military.

The proportion of Michigan workers in the public sector is lower than the national average at each level of government, the Census data show. In Michigan:

    Local government employed 5.1% of all workers compared to 6.7% nationally;
    State government employed 3.8% compared to the U.S. average of 4.4%;
    Federal government employed 1.5% compared to a national average of 2.4%.

The five states with the highest percentage of government workers: Alaska (25.6%), New Mexico (22.4%), Maryland (21.5%), Wyoming (20.1%) and Hawaii (19.8%).

Below are some more facts and figures about where Michigan residents work, beginning with an online database that provides the breakdown by county, based on the Census Bureau's five-year estimate for 2012-16.

This database divides the workers in each county into three categories: Those in the private sector, including nonprofits; those in the public sector, including local, state and federal government, and self-employed workers in non-incorporated ventures, a category that also includes unpaid family workers such as those who work on a family farm or business without pay.

Caveats regarding the data: These are Census estimates for a five-year period, and the smaller the county's population, the larger the margin of error.





Lots more info at site.

http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/01/10_of_michigan_workers_employe.html

Looks like low population counties have the highest percentage on the govt payroll.

4. Chippewa County in the Upper Peninsula has the highest percentage in the public sector

Chippewa County, which includes Ste. Saint Marie, has the highest proportion of workers in the public sector -- 28%. The county includes the Soo Locks in Ste. Saint Marie and the Chippewa Correctional Facility.

Other counties in the top five are also in the Upper Peninsula: Ontonogan, which includes Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park; Keweenaw, Michigan's northern-most and least-populated county; Mackinac, which includes St. Ignace and Mackinac Island, and Luce, which includes the Newberry Correctional Facility