In 2023, around 19.58 million people were working for state and local governments in the United States. This is much higher than the number of federal government (civilian) employees, which stood at about 2.87 million people in that year.

Graph and download economic data for All Employees, Federal (CES9091000001) from Jan 1939 to Sep 2025 about establishment survey, federal, government, employment, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for All Employees, Government from Jan 1939 to Sep 2025 about establishment survey, government, employment, and USA.

In 2023, about ** million people were full-time employees of state and local governments in the United States. In the same year, about four million people were part-time employees of state and local governments.

As of March 2023, there were about 7.8 million government employees working in elementary and secondary education in the United States. Additionally, approximately 527,064 people were employed in public welfare services in that year.

As of October 2024, there were 133.89 million full-time employees in the United States. This is a slight decrease from the previous month, when there were 134.15 million full-time employees. The impact COVID-19 on employment In December 2019, the COVID-19 virus began its spread across the globe. Since being classified as a pandemic, the virus caused a global health crisis that has taken the lives of millions of people worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic changed many facets of society, most significantly, the economy. In the first years, many businesses across all industries were forced to shut down, with large numbers of employees being laid off. The economy continued its recovery in 2022 with the nationwide unemployment rate returning to a more normal 3.4 percent as of April 2023. Unemployment benefits Because so many people in the United States lost their jobs, record numbers of individuals applied for unemployment insurance for the first time. As an early response to this nation-wide upheaval, the government issued relief checks and extended the benefits paid by unemployment insurance. In May 2020, the amount of unemployment insurance benefits paid rose to 23.73 billion U.S. dollars. As of December 2022, this value had declined to 2.24 billion U.S. dollars.

Graph and download economic data for Full-time equivalent employees: Federal government (A4377C0A173NBEA) from 1929 to 2023 about full-time, federal, government, employment, GDP, and USA.

This statistic shows the number of people employed full-time by state and local governments in the United States in 2023, by job function. The elementary and secondary education sector was the area with the highest number of state and local government employees in 2023 with over *********** full-time employees.

View monthly updates and historical trends for US Government Payrolls. from United States. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Track economic data with YC…

Government Payrolls in the United States increased by 22 thousand in September of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United States Government Payrolls - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Graph and download economic data for All Employees, Federal, Except U.S. Postal Service (CES9091100001) from Jan 1939 to Sep 2025 about establishment survey, federal, government, services, employment, and USA.

As of March 2023, about **** million people were employed by state governments in higher education in the United States. A further ******* people were employed by state governments in hospitals in that year.

As of March 2023, a total of 174,531 people were employed by local governments in the United States to work in libraries. The largest function of employment by number of employees was primary and secondary education, with more than 7.7 million local government employees.

In Norway, over ** percent of the population was employed in the government sector as of 2019. In general, Nordic countries employed the largest share of the working force in their governments. On the other hand, the employment in the Japanese government constituted **** percent of the total working population in 2019.

The total payroll costs for state government employees who worked in higher education in the United States amounted to around 12.43 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. For state government employees who worked in hospitals, the total payroll costs amounted to 3.05 billion U.S. dollars.

This statistic provides information on government employment in the Unites States in 2012, by state. In 2012, about *** thousand government employees were counted in New Mexico.

Graph and download economic data for All Employees, State Government (CES9092000001) from Jan 1955 to Aug 2025 about establishment survey, government, employment, and USA.

The total payroll costs for local government employees who worked in higher education in the United States amounted to around 2.02 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. Local government payroll costs for police protection amounted to about 6.32 billion U.S. dollars in that same year.

In 2025, it was estimated that over 163 million Americans were in some form of employment, while 4.16 percent of the total workforce was unemployed. This was the lowest unemployment rate since the 1950s, although these figures are expected to rise in 2023 and beyond. 1980s-2010s Since the 1980s, the total United States labor force has generally risen as the population has grown, however, the annual average unemployment rate has fluctuated significantly, usually increasing in times of crisis, before falling more slowly during periods of recovery and economic stability. For example, unemployment peaked at 9.7 percent during the early 1980s recession, which was largely caused by the ripple effects of the Iranian Revolution on global oil prices and inflation. Other notable spikes came during the early 1990s; again, largely due to inflation caused by another oil shock, and during the early 2000s recession. The Great Recession then saw the U.S. unemployment rate soar to 9.6 percent, following the collapse of the U.S. housing market and its impact on the banking sector, and it was not until 2016 that unemployment returned to pre-recession levels. 2020s 2019 had marked a decade-long low in unemployment, before the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic saw the sharpest year-on-year increase in unemployment since the Great Depression, and the total number of workers fell by almost 10 million people. Despite the continuation of the pandemic in the years that followed, alongside the associated supply-chain issues and onset of the inflation crisis, unemployment reached just 3.67 percent in 2022 - current projections are for this figure to rise in 2023 and the years that follow, although these forecasts are subject to change if recent years are anything to go by.

The Statistics of U.S. Businesses (SUSB) provides detailed annual data for all U.S. business establishments with paid employees by geography, industry, and enterprise size. This program covers all NAICS industries except crop and animal production; rail transportation; National Postal Service; pension, health, welfare, and vacation funds; trusts, estates, and agency accounts; private households; and public administration. The SUSB also excludes most government employees. Further, SUSB data for years 1988-1997 were tabulated based on the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. The SUSB features several arts-related NAICS industries, including the following: Arts, entertainment, and recreation (NAICS Code 71) Performing arts companies Spectator sports Promoters of performing arts, sports, and similar events Independent artists, writers, and performers Museums, historical sites, and similar institutions Amusement parks and arcades Professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS Code 54) Architectural services Graphic Design Services Landscape architectural services Photographic services Retail trade (NAICS Code 44-45) Sporting goods, hobby, and musical instrument stores Sewing, needlework, and piece goods stores Book stores Art dealers Also, the SUSB features several arts related SIC industries, including the following: Commercial photography (SIC Code 7335) Commercial art and graphic design (SIC Code 7336) Museums and art galleries (SIC Code 8412) Dance studios, schools, and halls (SIC Code 7911) Theatrical producers and services (SIC Code 7922) Sports clubs, managers, & promoters (SIC Code 7941) Motion Picture Production & Services (SIC Code 7810) Data compiled for the SUSB are extracted from the Business Register (BR). The BR contains continuously updated data from the Census Bureau's economic censuses and currently business surveys, quarterly and annual Federal tax records and other department and federal statistics. SUSB data are available approximately 24 months after each reference year and are available for the United States, each state, and Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA). The annual SUSB consist of number of firms, number of establishments, annual payroll, and employment during the week of March 12. In addition, estimated receipts data are included for years ending in 2 and 7. Dynamic data, which are created from the Business Information Tracking Series (BITS), consist of the number of establishments and corresponding employment change for births, deaths, expansions, and contractions. The SUSB is important because it provides the only source of annual, complete, and consistent enterprise-level data for U.S. businesses, with industry detail. Private businesses use the data for market research, strategic business planning, and managing sales territories. State and local governments, as well as, budget, economic development, and planning offices use the data to assess business changes, develop fiscal policies, and plan future policies and programs. In addition, the data are the standard reference source for small business statistics. Users can view the latest SUSB annual data and employment change data on the main SUSB page. For more detailed industry and employment size classes, users can download additional data in comma-delimited format. Annual data are tabulated back to 1988 and employment change data back to 1989-1990. Data users can find news and updates about the SUSB data via the News & Updates section.